
Infoworld journalist fired over fake alter ego - monkeygrinder
http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/it-business/it-organisation/news/index.cfm?newsid=18958
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michael_dorfman
This "Win7 memory usage" story keeps getting weirder...

Here's an excellent investigative piece by ZD.net which exposes the
shenanigans: <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=31024>

And here's Randall C Kennedy ("Craig Barth") claiming that Microsoft is out to
get him. [http://exo-blog.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-microsoft-
attacks-...](http://exo-blog.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-microsoft-attacks-
again.html)

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monkeygrinder
Wow, he lied to his employer and colleagues, and now he claims that it was a
Microsoft plot? This guy has utterly ruined his credibility and was exposed -
thanks to ZDnet and also Gregg Keizer at Computerworld US. (Full disclosure: I
work for IDG).

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raganwald
_Part of a reporter's job is to evaluate the veracity of a source. I did that,
but failed, for which I'm sorry._

Proper respects to Gregg Keizer for the apology.

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mwexler
Robert X Cringely was an alter ego for years; PBS gave him his own show under
the name. I guess this fellow carried it a bit too far, but it's not the first
time it's happened.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_X._Cringely>

~~~
wmf
The difference is that Cringely wasn't promoting his own products.

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Tichy
Microsoft should change their "available memory" widget ASAP to make it clear
what is just used for caching and what is really "used up". If not, they
should fire some people from marketing.

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altano
_Because that't the extend of the "deception" that everyone is so excited
about._

This guy's a journalist, you say?

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pmichaud
I guess people are upset because he didn't make it clear that it was a
pseudonym. I don't see the beef, really.

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pmichaud
Er... ok Mr. Downvote guy, then what beef should I have?

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ajju
He wrote controversial articles around data he claimed to have gotten from
another individual. This alleged source was his own fabrication. That itself
is a serious violation of journalistic ethics. The fact that the data itself
seems suspicious is the cherry on that stinking pie.

FWIW, I am not the down-vote.

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kingkawn
What is a real alter ego?

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aw3c2
yeah, edited headline and I guess he meant "secret alter ego". Actual headline
is "Infoworld journalist fired over Windows 7 claims"

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moron4hire
What is the deal here, that he used an alter ego at all or that he didn't
reveal that he was using an alter ego to InfoWorld? Personally, I don't have a
problem with it, even in the latter case. If you're creating an alter ego, you
want to protect your real identity. The fewer people who know your real
identity, the more protected it is. If we claim to care about technical
matters, we should evaluate claims purely on their technical aspects, not on
who made the claims (both for positive or negative).

