Now Microsoft Wants Its Laptop Back
12.27.06Microsoft and AMD sent out a pile of very expensive (yet trashy looking) laptops to a number of bloggers over the past week. We were told we could keep them - now after a day of minor outrage by some people they are emailing us back with the following request that we not keep them after all! And to think, I almost smashed mine in the middle of the street 10 minutes into trying to use it! I did figure out some of the basics after awhile, but it's still nothing life changing. Ok, so obviously I'm being a bit snotty here and am in a position of ridiculous privilege to get one of these things for free - I just don't think it's anything to get your knickers in a twist about given the state of the world.
My point is: the PR backpedal here is just silly. The original email read" "you are welcome to send the machine back to us after you are done playing with it, or you can give it away to your community, or you can hold onto it for as long as you’d like." Now this follow up:
Marshall,
No good deed goes unpunished, right? You may have seen that other bloggers got review machines as well. Some of that coverage was not factual. As you write your review I just wanted to emphasize that this is a review pc. I strongly recommend you disclose that we sent you this machine for review, and I hope you give your honest opinions. Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding of our intentions I’m going to ask that you either give the pc away or send it back when you no longer need it for product reviews.
Thanks for your understanding, and happy reviewing,
Aaron ***
Ha ha ha - the snazzy laptop I got in the mail from Microsoft yesterday was the only way I was ever going to use Vista anyway. And I'm certainly never going to take a laptop with a stupid looking Ferrari logo on the front anywhere but home and my cube at work.
The computer itself doesn't retail for $2k plus for nothing - it's fast. Windows is so annoying and (to me, a Mac user) so counter-intuitive, that I'd never buy a Windows machine. My partner won't touch the thing. I'm going to set it up to look pretty, take incoming news as if it was the 2nd half of a super large monitor and work on my Mac. Not that I'm super happy with the crash-happy, Flash-hating Macbook I have either. (That said, Parallels is a great program for testing Windows only applications.) See also oops - no new podcasts caught by iTunes for a week.
Ultimately all these companies are probably a lot like cell phone providers. Which is the least ugly one in the room? I wouldn't chose at all if I didn't have to.
I can't believe they are telling me not to keep it now. What kind of blogosphere reaction were they expecting?
December 27th, 2006 at
[…] Just had a nice conversation with Marshall, and he tells me that those nice (you can read his remarks) Ferrari laptops are NOT for keeps. Basically it was always for review purposes, and review or give away after you are done purposes only! […]
December 28th, 2006 at
That’s pretty ridiculous!
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Update: Marshall says that Microsoft wants the Laptop back. Are they nuts? […]
December 28th, 2006 at
way too funny.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Aaron *** Source: Marshall Kirkpatrick […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Microsoft hands out Ferrari’s to bloggers [iStartedSomething] Now Micrsoft Wants Its Laptops Back [MarshallK] tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px} table { border: 1px solid black } […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Marshall, Marshall…
Microsoft should have known, that you had not the time to review the laptop: You are very busy changing dramatically the online media landscape…
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] The suggestion made is that this was made clear to the bloggers - but the bloggers disagree, and report that no such statement or request came with their gifts. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
With all the PR money they have, they should actually pay someone who has at least a vague idea of what good PR is. This is just __________ (insert something outrageous).
It’s like they want to be hated and bashed, don’t they?
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Back to Microsoft’s current PR efforts, after sending them out with much fanfare and ado, they’re asking for them to be returned or given away, which is an overreaction to the flurry of blog posts over the suggestion that no blogger who received such a machine could possibly give an objective review. What crap. This is the same argument that is made over and over about PayPerPost — that being paid somehow implies a positive reaction. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
No worries. I’ll take it off your hands if it’s causing you to have fits of blind rage over usability problems (although how hard launching applications may be I’ll never know).
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] “No good deed goes unpunished” is how my latest e-mail from Aaron Coldiron started. It seems that the reaction in the blogosphere to some bloggers being treated to a new Ferrari laptop pre-loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 has caused Microsoft to rethink what they want the future of the laptops to be. Marshall got the same e-mail that I did from Aaron. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Good to see you’re viewing Vista with an open mind.
December 28th, 2006 at
Обсудите эту новость на news2.ru
December 28th, 2006 at
Marshall,
You analogy about celphone providers is so true…I just bought a MacBook after bad experiences with a barely 6 months old Sony Vaio purchased the 3rd hard drive crash on a Toshiba; and just switched to T-Mobile while running down my Sprint contract.
Which one is the least ugly remains to be seen.
Marianne
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Source: Marshall Kirkpatrick […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] 5. Confusion starts to take hold as some bloggers report that Microsoft is asking for the computers back. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Och kanske vill Microsoft ha tillbaka sina apparater… “We were told we could keep them - now after a day of minor outrage by some people they are emailing us back with the following request that we not keep them after all! … Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding of our intentions I’m going to ask that you either give the pc away or send it back when you no longer need it for product reviews.” (Marshall Kirkpatrick: Now Microsoft Wants Its Laptop Back) […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Hi, I read that Microsoft want ACER back or you need donate it, so I think that donate is a good idea!
Donate your ACER to me and I send you a post-card from Brazil
December 28th, 2006 at
go to http://sergo.dchannel.ru/
December 28th, 2006 at
“I’m going to ask that you either give the pc away or send it back when you no longer need it for product reviews.”
Totally open-ended. You could always “give it away” (though it sounds like you don’t even want it!)
December 28th, 2006 at
This thing is starting to feel like a PR disaster.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] And what did actually happen to the Intel Centrino Duo Blogger Challenge notebooks?Intel provided laptop machines with either the Core™ Duo or Core™ 2 Duo processor and built in Centrino wireless technology to 6 rising stars in the blogosphere. In return for these machines, our participating bloggers agreed to contribute to this group blog over the course of 5 weeks sharing their honest opinions and responses to a series of questions about blogging, the blogosphere and technology. Apart from recieving a laptop computer, none of these bloggers have been compensated in any way or asked to write anything specific about Intel. About The Intel Centrino Challenge Did I miss the scandal? Did Intel just as Microsoft decide to ask their laptops back, like Marshall Kirkpatrick reports? […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Update Dec. 27: Marshall Kirkpatrick says Now Microsoft Wants Its Laptop Back. Filed under General Business, Public Relations, Microsoft […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Great post. I can’t believe that MS would ask for the laptop back after offering it to you. They realized quite quickly that this whole situation blew up in their face, despite it clearly having some potential to be a useful marketing tool.
December 28th, 2006 at
Marshall, if you think about it, this is absolutely Microsoft behavior combined with traditional PR (that doesn’t get the blogosphere). Step 1-sending out a ridiculously hideous notebook branded as an over-priced Italian exotic car, but, built in Taiwan, running a bloated OS adorned in a fancy, flashy gown (like a cow with lipstick). Step 2-now back pedaling to either give it away or send it back….after reading the initial reaction (which was somewhat predictable in the first place)
December 28th, 2006 at
If you do think to give it away, please consider schools as the recipients, there are so many that have not been given computers for their students. I am sure a quick search would produce some type of list. Also, womens shelters, as these ladies need to be able to use a pc to gain employment in their future.
December 28th, 2006 at
I’m sorry, are you sure that microsoft wants the laptop back? I thought that it was one of three options: send it back, give it away or keep it…
ref.: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20061227/microsoft-free-ferrari/#comment-11956
December 28th, 2006 at
Matteo, that’s the point of this post. Microsoft sent out a second email last night changing their position after the reaction.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Now today, Marshall Kirkpatrick reports that Microsoft wants the laptops back. Marshall, […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] This story kept growing yesterday and all sorts of interesting facts and opinions are coming out of the woodwork. The most interesting post I read was by Marshall Kirkpatrick who tells us that Microsoft asked for the laptop back now the the situation has become a PR nightmare. From the post: […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] After the news about Microsoft giving laptops to bloggers spread big time, now it seems Microsoft want bloggers to either send back the laptops or give them away. Intentions are simple, reviewers don’t get to keep it. But why? Marshall Kirkpatrick, (one among the bloggers that review the Microsoft free laptop) wrote these in his blog Microsoft and AMD sent out a pile of very expensive (yet trashy looking) laptops to a number of bloggers over the past week. We were told we could keep them - now after a day of minor outrage by some people they are emailing us back with the following request that we not keep them after all! And to think, I almost smashed mine in the middle of the street 10 minutes into trying to use it! […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Clearly Microsoft doesn’t want the laptop back. The memo from Aaron says you can give it away to someone else. You just can’t keep it for obvious reasons. Obvious, at least, to anyone with a sense of fair play.
December 28th, 2006 at
Send it back, but in protest, first reformat the hard drive and install RedHat Linux instead of Vista.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Was just checking my email this morning and saw this from the Microsoft representative:“You may have seen that other bloggers got review machines as well. Some of that coverage was not factual. As you write your review I just wanted to emphasize that this is a review pc. I strongly recommend you disclose that we sent you this machine for review, and I hope you give your honest opinions. Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding of our intentions I’m going to ask that you either give the pc away or send it back when you no longer need it for product reviews.” From the looks of it I am not the only one who has received that email. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
just goes to show that there is never something for FREE with Hasefroch (Micro$oft)… not even Free Beer….
VIVA LA LINUX
December 28th, 2006 at
People should lighten up, this is obviously a “v1.0″ attempt at cooking up some solid PR for Vista. I understand there is a v2.0 and v3.0 plan already in development which should be a lot better. Wait for it!
December 28th, 2006 at
If you didn’t previously agree (and sign contract) that you’ll take it only for reviewing purpose - than you can probably keep it… I mean I would if some stranger mailed me such nice laptop (I really don’t care about ferrari logo)
December 28th, 2006 at
think you can pass it on to me?
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Se vi siete persi qualche puntata ecco qualche fonte: 1 2 3 4 5 6 MondoWin, notebook, polemica, portatile, windows vista Socializza: […]
December 28th, 2006 at
no seriously can you?
December 28th, 2006 at
What kind of crappy blog software are you using? So many repeats of comments. Rediculous…
December 28th, 2006 at
I’ve reread the letter and I don’t see Microsoft asking for it back–but rather the are asking that you volunteer to give away the laptop after review as to prevent the delivery from looking inappropriate.
Are you retarded or do you just want to spin it negatively?
December 28th, 2006 at
i was one of the few people that didn’t see anything wrong with the laptop giveaway. I figured whoever got them would write honest reviews. That means good OR bad. I actually thought it was a gutsy PR move/risk. But after seeing this? What a mess!
December 28th, 2006 at
Why don’t you just trade with another blogger that got a free one? Then you both get to keep it.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Waar Microsoft, naar mijn mening, echter wel de mist in is gegaan is door het in eerste instantie te laten lijken dat er een cadeau werd uitgedeeld ter waarde van $2400 zonder dat duidelijk is wat er voor terug wordt verlangd (als dat al het geval was) en dat vervolgens teruggegaan wordt op de eerste mededeling en dat het nu alleen een review pc is. Dit lijkt niet zozeer een schandaal te zijn als wel de laatste PR blunder van 2006. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
I will be nice enough to take the laptop off your hands. Just let me know where to send the shipping box and label to and I will help you out.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] There seems to be quite a lot a controversy surrounding Microsoft’s Christmas “gifts” of Acer Ferrari laptops loaded with Vista. Some bloggers are over the moon about getting one of these sweet machines, others received a 2nd email telling them that they are only “review” machines, and that they must please pass them on or return them once they have reviewed it. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] MS/Edelman haben nunmehr reagiert und das offizielle Anschreiben lautet nun wie folgt, zB Marshall Kirkpatrick Blog: No good deed goes unpunished, right? You may have seen that other bloggers got review machines as well. Some of that coverage was not factual. As you write your review I just wanted to emphasize that this is a review pc. I strongly recommend you disclose that we sent you this machine for review, and I hope you give your honest opinions. Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding of our intentions I’m going to ask that you either give the pc away or send it back when you no longer need it for product reviews. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] read more | digg story You can also bookmark this on del.icio.us or check the cosmos […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Install Ubuntu on it! Or try to install a Mac - if you can..
Anyway, if you plan to donate it, I think you should not donate with a crap like Vista.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Now Microsoft is requesting that bloggers who received free laptops return them or give them away. Rather than help things, this just seems to make matters worse. “Here’s a present, Merry Christmas! OK, now, give it back.” […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Does microsoft not know of the laws related to items sent without being requested..
It yours to keep. period…..
You didn’t order it, you didn’t ask for it. They just sent it (if this is in fact the case).
Keep it in good health… its no different than a publisher sending you a book you didn’t order or ask for. Free gift.
December 28th, 2006 at
Man, if you want to give it to me I sure could appreciate it. I’m trying to run a small business.
Adios,
Kevin
December 28th, 2006 at
I’ve look to test Ubuntu Edgy on it when you’re done.
=)
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] read more | digg story […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Why don’t you install linux and donate it to a local school?
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Now I’m reading that Microsoft is asking for the laptops back. That makes absolutely no sense. If you have to give back the hardware then you’re not going to go thru the trouble of actually setting it up and using it in real-life. You can play around with the pre-installed tools and poke around the demos, but you won’t install and configure the 10 apps that are your core tools, because it’s just not worth it. After all the trouble of installing and setting up, you have to give it back. Plus you have to worry about any sensitive information you put on there. In short, pain. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
i dont get it - obviously they dont really want it back if they say you can give it away. so MS reacts funnily to reviews of mediocre laptops by mac-heads. breaking news!
December 28th, 2006 at
Why complain about being asked to give back or away a product that it seems you don’t like anyway.
December 28th, 2006 at
You are a moron if you thought you could keep it. There’s this thing called review units you know?
December 28th, 2006 at
They aren’t “telling” you to give it back, that’s obvious from the email you quoted.
December 28th, 2006 at
If you’re looking for someplace to give it, keep me in mind. Some of us are not fortunate enough to receive freebies such as a laptop.
December 28th, 2006 at
They say keep it or give it away in their response email. I think they also say “be fair when you review this”. That is all good.. you could give it away to yourself when you’re done. Anyway, what is so confusing about windows to a mac user? Too many buttons on the mouse? Need to do something other than play itunes or organize pictures? I use a mac and i notice all my minimize/maximize/window management icons are in different places. It takes me appx. 2 seconds to figure it all out and then no more problems. Hating Vista makes no sense when it is obviously inspired by OS X but with useful features for those of us who need to do something on a computer that couldn’t accomplished with a typewriter and/or a glue stick.
December 28th, 2006 at
UMM…Are you all stupid….if they said return OR GIVE THEM AWAY…just tell them you gave it to family and keep it…DUH…most families will stick together…so stop bitchin’ and keep them.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Just when Microsoft was winning points with me for sending out free Vista-loaded laptops to bloggers, they go and screw it up. According to Marshall Kirpatrick, the Vista laptops are coming with strings attached, after all: if you give a positive review of the operating system, they’ll let you keep it, but if they see you talking trash about it, you’ll either have to give it away on your site or send it back. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Just install Ubuntu on it, and then send it back - or donate it with the ubuntu thing on it (That way the recipients don’t have to worry about crashes, security and licenses)
December 28th, 2006 at
heres me not giving a shit about some whiney bitch who has nothing better to do but pretend he is cool cause he owns a mac.
give me the laptop and shut the fuck up.
December 28th, 2006 at
Hmmmm, why’d they send it to you in he first place? It seems from your comments you already have a Mac bias and dont seem particularly objective . rule #1 of good journalism is to check your personal opinions at the door and report the facts. So if this laptop is fast, why? is it the hardware? or perhaps microsoft actually streamlined it’s code?
December 28th, 2006 at
You hate Microsoft - that’s great. Most people either hate or love it and it’s great for this company.
Same most people __don’t care__ about over expensive Apple, that’s why Apple will have no success in it’s attempts to change computer landscape…
December 28th, 2006 at
But officer I have a receipt for this laptop.
December 28th, 2006 at
You guys don’t know how the game is played. It’s like this…
Just so the laptop isn’t considered a bribe for a good review, they are suggesting you “give away” the laptop, or send it back to them. That’s all the email said. It didn’t say you HAVE to give it back. If they really wanted you to send it back, or pass it on to another reviewer, they would have provided information on who to send it to. The hint here is that they’re telling you to just give it away.
I suggest, if you don’t want it, send the thing to me, I’ll take it.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] read more | digg story […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Riiiiiight. The “crash-happy Macbook” or the “fast” PC and you just refuse to see the light. Smells like fanboyism, despite the outrageous change of policy.
December 28th, 2006 at
I actually do plan to review Vista for HardOCP (pending approval of the project - I’m currently in talks and working on another project for them.) If you’re being asked to give it away, I actually could use it for an in-depth review.
– Brian Boyko
December 28th, 2006 at
Nice job not being biased.
December 28th, 2006 at
I was recently in a similar situation - Intel gave me a laptop that I got to keep, although it was in exchange for my participation on http://intelbloggerchallenge.com/
Anyways, they asked that you give the laptop away or give it back.. didn’t say anything about making the person not work for it. I propose you have a contest of sorts on your site. That way you benefit from the contest entries (whatever they might be, comments for article suggestions or links) and you get to give away the laptop as they want you to.
December 28th, 2006 at
Just find someone who also got the laptop, give your to him and he can give his to you
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Last but not least, Microsoft gives out laptops loaded with the over-hyped Windows Vista, and asks for them back. Great job Microsoft, great job. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Now Microsoft Wants Its Laptop Back […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Well I must say you must be a spoiled little child. If the laptop is so ugly and useless, then you can easily give it away to me. I will gladly take it.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] See also: Marshall Kirkpatrick, and the discussion on Slashdot. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Let’s have a betting pool, how long before they start showing up on ebay? Sell’em while they’re hot….
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] With the recent kerfuffle over Microsoft giving laptops to bloggers so that they might try out Vista — and then quickly letting them know that they were NOT gifts after all (but had to be given away, or sent back) has gotten the blogosphere all riled up during this quiet inter-christmas-new year time period. Quite frankly, in spite of all the righteous outrage that got Microsoft to retract their offer (or change it, as it were), I’m not sure where Microsoft was wrong in all of this. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
The Ethics of the Blogosphere
Nowhere is it more apparent that there are no grays, just blacks and whites, than in the blogosphere.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] Well, at PayPerPost we’ve had some experience now with ‘disclosure’ and how upset the blogosphere can get when company’s start providing blogging incentives (which we don’t do by the way, we’re a marketplace). Microsoft learned the same lessons with it’s latest move and there was an instant backlash against a move that many see as deceptive and underhanded. Microsoft have been compared to a juggernaut in the past, but this particular juggernaut managed to to spin around 180 degrees quicker than a Russian Ballerina. Marshall Kirkpatrick broke the story citing a communication he got from MS stating that he should disclose that the laptop is a review laptop, not a gift, and that when he’s done he should either give it away or return. That’s a strange statement to make, since one could presumably give it to a spouse and keep it in the household, and thus it’s still an incentive. Interesting turn of events though. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Microsoft Giveth then Taketh Away
File this one under What were they thinking?! As has been reported all over the place, Microsoft had a great idea to seed the blogosphere with souped-up laptops running their new operating system, Vista. The bloggers received these gifts in
December 28th, 2006 at
מיקרוסופט רוצה את הלפטופים בחזרה
לאחר ההמולה התיקשורתית שהאשימה את ענקית התוכנה בשיחוד בלוגרים, ע”י כך ששלחה להם לפטופים בחינם, מחלקת יחסי הציבור של מיקרוסופט נכנסה לפעול…
December 28th, 2006 at
L’epopea del laptop che Microsoft ha regalato con Windows Vista
In principio hanno ricevuto una bizzarra scatola contente una memory card è dei difficilissimi rompicapo da risolvere. Nome in codice dell’operazione: Vanishing Point. Subito dopo si sono visti recapitare un bellissimo e potentissimo portatile…
December 28th, 2006 at
Hahahahaha. It’s funny how all you do is trash Microsoft in this post.
One of the few honest blogs that believes in FAIR and HONEST journalism.
Well done.
December 28th, 2006 at
I think it’d be clearer if the whole first mail was disclosed: http://www.crunchnotes.com/?p=331 I don’t see the scandal anywhere. On the other hand, if you, Marshall, are not gonna have any look at the computer, you could spend a little of time to see how you can give it to somebody who can actually make some use of it.
December 28th, 2006 at
Marshall, advice… grow up! You have an extremist, one-sided point of view, that will get you nowhere… don’t think that becuase you have a blog, what you need to say is valid or of any importance.
December 28th, 2006 at
> “Not that I’m super happy with the crash-happy, Flash-hating Macbook I have either.”
If you’re having problems with the Flash Player on you Mac you shouldn’t be. Feel free to ping me for some assistance. You may just need to update to the latest version of the Flash Player (www.adobe.com/go/getflash).
- Mike Downey, Flash Product Manager
mdowney [AT] adobe [DOT] com
December 28th, 2006 at
Maybe you can shove it up the “blogosphere’s” gaping, pretentious maw? Would that change the media landscape you goon?
December 28th, 2006 at
Ok, I found your blog off techmeme, first read and last. Your attitude towards receiving a review machine is totally ridiculous. Fine you don’t like windows, you want os X or whatever, that does not mean you need to give the most one-sided view of the whole package (down to mocking the laptop, I mean really…)
All I can hope is that Microsoft conducts the correct follow-up and finds people like you who are obviously not making use of the resources provided to make an informative and sensible review and makes sure that such resources are instead passed on to people who will use them more sensibly.
I am not trying to say you should give a good review for something you don’t like just because you got given free stuff.
And lastly, “I’m certainly never going to take a laptop with a stupid looking Ferrari logo on the front” well done on reviewing the wrong product.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] story No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTMLallowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> […]
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] We want our laptops back says Microsoft […]
December 28th, 2006 at
PR is PR. Microsoft never seriously suffered from bad press. You’re their hero anyway, Marshall.
December 28th, 2006 at
When Microsoft contacted you if you wanted a PC from them, why didn’t you just tell them no instead of taking it so you can bitch about how you’d never use windows?
Unbiased journalism at it’s greatest.
December 28th, 2006 at
Under US postal laws, the laptop is yours to keep.
December 28th, 2006 at
This is just a CYA move — they told you it’s a “review machine” now, and they asked you to disclose it as such, and they want you to give the laptop away or return it (thus removing the bribe angle). Nothing has really changed; honest bloggers will still be honest, and the others — we’ll they’ll do what they do too.
Keep the laptop. Write Apple, ask if they’ll trade you a new macbook pro for it, and bob’s your uncle.
December 28th, 2006 at
I am waiting for someone to take the laptop they get from good ole billy, and slam that motha fucka right into the pavement. then put the video on youtube so i can’t stop laughing.
December 28th, 2006 at
[…] The resulting press over the laptop giveaway has made Microsoft a little red faced and now it looks like they want the laptop back. […]
December 28th, 2006 at
Hey, if you are going to give it away, I’m right here.
December 28th, 2006 at
I get the impression, that most of the people commenting here, don’t have the ability to read every word in a text…
December 29th, 2006 at
YOUR PARTNER? QUEER
December 29th, 2006 at
It’d be cool if you did something like the Laughingsquid guys and sold it on ebay and donated the money to the EFF (or some other worthy cause).
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] Aaron *** (MarshallK) […]
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] Zowel positieve als negatieve reacties op de weggeefactie zijn o.a. te vinden op volgende blogs : www.scobleizer.com, www.marshallk.com en www.whatsnextblog.com. […]
December 29th, 2006 at
They are really funny, now some blogger should review how linux runs on that laptop
That would be really funny
December 29th, 2006 at
Humm, yes, I would like it donated to me - for evaluation.
I feel that I am now somewhat of an evaluation expert having excised the resident evil windoze thing from my own Acer Laptop. I`ve given it a new life of freedom with PCLinux OS. I also gave it some cosmetic surgury, with levering and removing that stuck on “xp” plastic blob sticker” on the front of the machine, so it looks as good as it runs now.
I could attempt to do the same thing on that machine too….
December 29th, 2006 at
You could give it away to me… I’m still using an old piece of crap 3.5 year old laptop. I’m a poor student and I’m graduating this year with a degree in computer science. It’d SERIOUSLY help me out! I’ll send you my resume if you want credentials.
December 29th, 2006 at
You could give it to a shareware developper or independend software vendor like me and get some free-as-in-beer licenses in return as a gift.
This way you get something for giving it away but you are not strictly selling it.
Of course, you may then sell some of the licenses on ebay or something like that.
Chris
P.S. I’ll install Debian GNU/Linux on it as soon as I get it…
December 29th, 2006 at
I think Marshall has full right to be enraged. The mail clearly says somewhere in it that “send it back when you no longer need it for product reviews.”
I don’t care what the rest of the mail says or means.
December 29th, 2006 at
From the United States Postal Service:
Unsolicited Merchandise
A company sends you a gift in the mail-a tie, a good luck charm, or a key chain. You didn’t order it. What do you do? If you’re the kind of person they are looking for, you’ll feel guilty and pay for it. But you don’t have to. What you do with the merchandise is entirely up to you.
* If you have not opened the package, mark it “Return to Sender.” The Postal Service will send it back at no charge to you.
* If you open the package and don’t like what you find, throw it away.
* If you open the package and like what you find, keep it-free. This is a rare instance where “finders, keepers” applies unconditionally.
Whatever you do, don’t pay for it-and don’t get conned if the sender follows up with a phone call or visit. By law, unsolicited merchandise is yours to keep.
So tell Microsoft to suck it up. It’s yours to do with as you wish.
December 29th, 2006 at
i want so much.
December 29th, 2006 at
i want it so much.
December 29th, 2006 at
make a 3 years long-term review on how *bsd/*linux runs on it, or just 3 months and spend it as hardware to openbsd-driver-developers. M$ told you to test/review the laptop, never mentioned to take the crappy DOS-clone in account for testing, but nice that they thought about making it easier for you to download the newest images of any bsd/unix you want to test
December 29th, 2006 at
Hey, to each their own, buddy.
You may not be able to use Vista but I just can’t use Mac OS X.
Having used beta Vista software for over six months, I’d have to say that I couldn’t find anything about it I’d label ‘difficult’ or even really ‘annoying’, most of all my problem with it lies in that, being beta software, compatibility with software/hardware was not great starting out, but got consistantly better in every release (compatibility wikis demonstrated this.) Other than that, it was a positive enough experience for me to use it as my main/single OS for that period of time, anyway. (Though after trying to use a couple of Asian-produced online games - many of which have horrible Vista support right now - I got a little frusterated and set up a Media Center Edition 2005 partition on my hard drive… mind you, they wouldn’t possibly work on Mac regardless
In any event I haven’t really /used/ Mac OS since before OS X. After that, the OS stopped making any semblence of sense to me. I used to have a Mac Classic and I loved it. But for some reason, every time I sit down at a kiosk or at a freind’s house (who is excitedly proclaiming, ‘you have to get a Mac!’ without quite explaining any concrete reason why) who has an iMac or some other Mac PC and I try to use it, I just get… confused… and frusterated. I don’t know, I’m going to be a jerk here and say that I’m used to things being logical!
About the laptop though: reformat it with XP MCE 2005 (possibly the best Windows OS until Vistas incompatibility issues are worked out) and go play whatever games arn’t availible for Mac.(i.e. most..) And no, don’t give the damn thing back!
December 29th, 2006 at
I see it like Christian above, if i where you i would try to install Debian Linux on it too
December 29th, 2006 at
God. Why are you spinning it like this?
1. Yes, you don’t have to give it back and you can do what you like with it.
2. Microsoft just doesn’t want people to *profit* from this. Either donate the laptop or give it back, is what they suggest. Not that it’s enforceable, but that’s all they’re saying.
December 29th, 2006 at
So divorced from the common world that you couldn’t possibly find some useful charity to whom you could donate the thing?
December 29th, 2006 at
I kind of agree with Andrew.
And I don’t understand the fuss about it. They are review PCs, not from Father Christmas.
The most obvious thing to do: Write reviews. Write one. Then send one to me, I will do my best to get OpenBSD onto it; test and write a thorough review (or reviews). Then I’ll put Debian Etch (hopefully
) onto it, and write some serious review(s). And then I’ll pass it on to a volunteer to do the Ubuntu-thingy, or whatever. And so forth. We can even create a site with all those reviews. Will be useful to all of us.
(Yes, and in the end someone mods OSX onto it !)
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] All this has created a storm in blogsphere, to the point where MS has now changed their minds and they want the laptops back. […]
December 29th, 2006 at
d’ya think MS just realized they may have to do Form 1099 reports on all the “gifts” they sent out?
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] UPDATE 3: There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation floating around regarding this issue, especially on Digg and Slashdot. As I mentioned in my original post on the laptop, the only communication I received about this was an email from Edelman. The email stated that Microsoft was sending me a “present” with “no strings attached”. It did not include any instructions at all regarding what to do with the laptop. I did not receive the same email as the other bloggers, including the follow-up email that was sent by Microsoft to Marshall Kirkpatrick. I have asked Edelman for an explanation regarding this inconstancy, but have not received one yet. So just to be clear, I was never sent any kind of instructions on what to do with the laptop and I did not sign anything, including an NDA. tags: EFF (T) , Jason Schultz (T) , Microsoft (T) , Electronic Frontier Foundation (T) , Windows (T) , Windows Vista (T) , Edelman (T) , AMD (T) , Ferrari (T) , Acer (T) , Ferrari 1000 (T) , eBay (T) , auction (T) , non-profit (T) Comments RSS feed | Trackback URL […]
December 29th, 2006 at
oooohhhh the blogosphere is stark raving mad, oh my god! the lunatic fringe at it again. why is it so unbelievable that a company that wants reviews on its products will send you the product? there is anything unethical about this. all you have to do is disclose it when you write the review, plain and simple.
December 29th, 2006 at
Why don’t all of the recipients stand in a circle and pass the laptops to the blogger to their left? That way you have “given the laptop away”.
Nowhere does the letter say you can’t receive a different one as a gift!
December 29th, 2006 at
Perhaps they need a lawyer?
December 29th, 2006 at
I’ll take the laptop, if you don’t want it. Just in the interest of you not having to send the thing back to Microsoft. And my own personal greed, of course.
But really, I don’t see why you’d send it back if provided the option to spread the wealth around. If not to me, to somebody.
December 29th, 2006 at
To: Microsoft
I promise will write a positive review of Vista.
Now, can I get a laptop for reviewing ?
December 29th, 2006 at
Yeah, reformat the hard drive so you don’t get to experience the amazing OS that Vista is. Lol.
Also, roflmacs.
December 29th, 2006 at
It’s almost too bad that yours was the first post about the laptops being recalled by MS PR… now everyone is gonna see your stupid message about how you can’t figure out how to run applications on Windoz…derp..
December 29th, 2006 at
Well, if the Ferrai logo is really bothering you that badly, you could always go rip the KIA emblem off your car and stick it on their…..
Are all MAC people this picky? wtf…
December 29th, 2006 at
Wow, with them changing their minds so fast I can’t help but wonder what the reveiws will be like. What were they thinking here? This just looks even worse for microsoft, they should’ve just kept to the original emails at least then they didn’t look like something was wrong.
You know you could always keep it and say you aren’t done with it. After all doesn’t microsoft update something every 6 months. Just tell them to keep you on the list to review future products. Just a thought.
December 29th, 2006 at
Here you go hold a well publicised auction for it labled a nazgules laptop
Give the history and that it was one of the 8. And donate the generated funds.
December 29th, 2006 at
give the laptop to me. in holland
i’ll give it to my kid
December 29th, 2006 at
Zeitgeist Data, Frog Princes, Free Laptops,
There’s been a lot brewing in the Internet Marketing world the past few days, so much that I throw up my hands and wonder what to really look at and analyze. While I sit and ponder what in-depth knowledge to relate back about some of these subjects, I…
December 29th, 2006 at
Well, if you absolutely must give it away, I’ll take it off your hands. Heck, I’ll even pay the shipping.
December 29th, 2006 at
acer laptops are horrid pieces of hardware. i have had one for two years and it has slowly fallen apart the -entire- time. finally the keyboard has started to go and given me the last straw i needed to replace it. i’ve hated this thing since i pulled it out of the box. fixing it isn’t worth it. you couldn’t pay me to use another acer. ever.
December 29th, 2006 at
I like trashing MS as much as the next person, but I agree with the few people above in that you are overreacting this time.
If people complained to Microsoft that they were bribing reviewers with laptops, this was the easiest way to remove themselves from the accusation. They just removed “keep it” from their original statement, and added “please review honestly” to make it clear that this wasn’t a bribe.
What would have been a better solution?
December 29th, 2006 at
P.S. I just noticed you could pass as my younger self by the pic you have on this page. I thought it was me for a second… eerie.
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] But the greedy bloggers grab them and roll with it. Now that is out, they try to weasel out of it. Marshall K says it almost broke his, cause it didn’t wok. Now it doesn’t work, rite, Apple fanboy? Before people finding out you didn’t consider it…You took it and loved it… Others gave reviews, most of them good (the laptops are a fine machinery), altought MS did ask them to write, if they will, honestly. Because a honest opinion is worth more then a paid one. […]
December 29th, 2006 at
Put Linux on it and send it back. Before you send it back, do a review on how fast Linux runs on this machine.
Or send it to me, I really need a Portable so bad.
Cheers.
December 29th, 2006 at
If you don’t want it I’ll take it… I have a nephew that would love to have a laptop for school.
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] Ce e deranjanta e ipocrizia. Marshall Kirkpatrick spune ca voia sa il sparga, ca nu mergea. Asa e nenea, cum zici tu, n-a mai mers acuma, cand a aflat toata lumea ca iti place gratis. Cand nu stia nimeni, nu aveai probleme cu el. […]
December 29th, 2006 at
Just so you know Mr. Marshall, you are a snob and a prick.
December 29th, 2006 at
Marshall, the fact that you and so many of your readers are so dim as to personify a company as vast as Microsoft or Apple proves the relative effectiveness of both companies’ PR machines. People have this inane idea that somehow Apple=cool. Come on!
Your review is objective like Fox News is fair and balanced. I’ll bet that if Apple supplied you with a Macbook you would just gush about how wonderful and cool Apple is and how well they take care of the blogosphere. What a joke!
December 29th, 2006 at
Look at lil pissboy! Got a free laptop and is complaining…. whaaa I don’t like what they gave me…. Whaaaaa. Shut the fuck up and give it to somebody who will appreciate it you spoiled little bitch!
December 29th, 2006 at
They gave the laptop as a gift, and performed on that promise. After that promise has been resolved, and the property is yours, they have no legal right to demand it returned - it is your property with no additional terms, unless there were other terms not mentioned beyond your post above. This does not constitute legal advice which can be relied upon, but is merely my personal opinion. Also, Acer Ferrari’s are f!%!^#$ing ugly.
December 29th, 2006 at
There are are some seriously stark differences between your earlier sentiments and the current one. Suddenly mad and whiny because you “can’t” keep it. It’s obvious MS reaction was a pr thing. If you don’t like the machine quite whining and being snotty and give it back. silly crybaby.
December 29th, 2006 at
i think your taking this to seriously. keep the laptop and use it. your a yutz for not doing so
December 29th, 2006 at
If any of these blogger wants to donate the laptop to a good cause then please consider www.asa-houston.org (non-profit org)… they are working with high school students building a liquid rocket motor.
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] “Here’s a gift. Now give it back.” - Microsoft December 28th, 2006 Microsoft wants it’s Ferrari’s back. […]
December 29th, 2006 at
DisclosurePolicy.org > Is Mea Culpa the Default DP
Amit over at Digital Inspiration had a nice wrap-up post on the elite bloggers who took Microsoft Ferrari Laptops pre-loaded with Vista. Disclosure of the $2000 blogola (er, review machine) wasn’t required: Some disclosed, some didn’t. Some think it…
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] After all that, Microsoft back peddles and asks for the laptops back - pretty please? […]
December 29th, 2006 at
This was allready a REVIEW or not?
+laptop is free
-operation system suxs like we expected
-microsoft wants money
-looks shit
-very expensive
December 29th, 2006 at
Just say you gave it away, how the hell are they gonna find out?
December 29th, 2006 at
I don’t see what everybody’s complaining about. This is not a PR nightmare for Microsoft, it just didn’t turn out as favorably as they had hoped. And quit trying to spin this by claiming that Microsoft now wants all of the laptops sent back because they didn’t like the response they got from the bloggers. The second email is simply stating that they don’t want it to appear that they tried to bribe bloggers by sending them free laptops. The intention is to review the product, and then either give it away or send it back to Microsoft. Perhaps I’m not seeing something, but is there really anything worth complaining about here? It seems to me that people are just looking for an opportunity to whine about the big M. If you’re going to try to criticize Microsoft, please don’t use such a stupid argument to do so.
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] Hehe vem v prejsnem postu sem na veliko govoril kako je Microsoft prijazno obdaril bloggerje kar od enkrat jih pa hoce nazaj, zakaj le? Slashdot.org poroca, da je eden od dobidnikov laptopa (Scott Beale) dal kot drazbo na Ebay denar pa naj bi potem sel na neprofitno organizacijo EFF - Electronical Frontier Foundation. Microsoft je zadevo zasledil in kot poroca Marshall Kirkpatrick microsoft zahteva vrnitev laptopa nazaj, saj je na email dobil prijazno sporocilce: Marshall, […]
December 29th, 2006 at
Lord, what a douchebag this guy is. Whining about how he doesn’t like the free laptop they sent him.
December 29th, 2006 at
that last one takes the cake
December 29th, 2006 at
NIGGLET
December 29th, 2006 at
I’m sure MS is sending out the “please return” email for tax reasons… they don’t want the recipients to have to pay taxes on the gift.
December 29th, 2006 at
In the original e-mail is does not say you can sell or auction it off…it says keep as long as you’d like or GIVE AWAY…I believe this is what has the PR folks at MS peeved…Vista? no thanks I’d wipe it an install Ubuntu FWIW. But hey if you want to give it away…you have my email
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] How come the little guys can’t get the free laptops? We’re more likely to actually get excited about a free laptop from Microsoft than get upset about it. We’re more likely to drool all over Vista and the Ferrari’s that where handed out. Personally, I would have taken the thing to work and let everyone else look at it (from a great distance). I’m positive that my blog would have gotten more hits […]
December 29th, 2006 at
“PR backpedal”. Marshall, you haven’t lost your touch since leaving TechCrunch. Thx for shedding light on this shady situation. Some of us who work in PR do know better. Best wishes for a Happy (or more ethical) New Year.
December 29th, 2006 at
Microsoft can send me a free laptop anytime with vista on it. I will erase the vista and install windows 2000 Pro on it. Then I will have a laptop to use that isn’t spying on me to report to Redmond what I am playing on the DVD player and who I am sending emails to.
Thanks Microsoft for Vista NOT
December 29th, 2006 at
God! You people are like spoiled little kids whose parents have taken them on a family vacation. You end up bitching the whole time over what? Someone trying to do something nice for a change?
If you don’t like the laptop or the OS, fine! But to sit there and bash MS for trying to promote their new product is, IMO, very childish. Why can’t you just follow instructions? Write the reviews of the new OS. If you don’t like it, say so. Then give the laptop away or send it back? Why does it have to be an MS roast with you people?
Oh! And, by the way, yeah…I’m a Mac user too. I just get sick and tired of everyone bawling out MS all the time. Geez! I’m tired of it! Grow up!
December 29th, 2006 at
At first blush it seems like they have no legal way to compel you to give the laptop back. A gift is a gift, a contract is a contract. The part of the initial letter posted plus the fact that they sent the laptop out of the blue strongly suggests gift, not contract. If they don’t like what they did, they need to live with it. And whatever they say after sending the laptop (”we want it back”) doesn’t change that analysis.
Also, the value of the laptops (especially once used) would probably be less than the minimum amount for a “full-scale” complaint in most jurisdictions, meaning that they’d have to sue you in small claims court … where being represented by a lawyer is actually often discouraged (see, e.g., CA Code Civ Pro).
December 29th, 2006 at
How about - appreciate the gift, stop complaining, and stop being sarcastic. You’re a joke.
December 29th, 2006 at
What on earth was MS thinking? That Ferrari laptop is fugly as hell (although I won’t mind if MS sends me one, because currently I don’t own any notebook) and now they even want it back ! Why did they sent it in the first place anyway? Just to get some reviews from the cult-of-mac? Fat chance, I say
December 29th, 2006 at
How were the laptops shipped? If they were shipped via the U.S. Postal Service, you have *no obligation* to return them:
From http://www.bbb.org/Alerts/article.asp?ID=452
# Under federal law, you are entitled to regard unordered merchandise sent through the U.S. mail as a free gift. The same law makes it illegal to mail bills for such unordered merchandise. Note, however, that this does not include merchandise sent in error.
# If you do not wish to pay for unsolicited merchandise, you may do one of three things (in each case, by law, you have no obligation to the sender): 1) If you have not opened the package, you may mark it “Return to Sender,” and the Postal Service will return it with no additional postage charged to you; 2) If you open the package and don’t like what you find, you may throw it away; or 3) If you open the package and like what you find, you may keep it for free. In this insta nce, “finders-keepers” applies unconditionally.
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] While I’ve been trying to work over the past day, my last post here on Microsoft’s PR backpedaling on the laptops they sent out to some bloggers has seen more than 60,000 page views (in case you were wondering). I’ve been called some incredible names, some quite funny. Inbound links were perfectly pleasant but many nasty comments. I probably deserved some of that criticism, but I stand behind the post. It was a PR blunder to say “keep them as long as you like,” then after one day of criticism urge people not to keep the laptops. Whatever. I’ll make sure the thing is put to good use, either by myself or by someone who needs a laptop more than I do. Quite a few people emailed me to ask me to give it to them. […]
December 29th, 2006 at
Jist pass one of these FERRARI`S on to me & I`ll review & review & rev it up without end, since our beloved Michael garaged the real bullet.
Mani
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] That’s all I can think after seeing them stumble yet again, this time with Microsoft. One blogger relates his story here. del.icio.us this! […]
December 29th, 2006 at
You could give it away to me though - I could certainly use but not afford a laptop.
December 29th, 2006 at
You can give it to me when you’re through with it. I could use a laptop.
I tell you what, I promise to install Linux on it.
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] Actualização: Parece que a Microsoft está a pedir os portáteis de volta a alguns bloggers. A campanha de marketing bem sucedida de que falei, parece estar a transformar-se num desastre… tags:acer ética blogger blogosfera ferrari full disclosure microsoft vista windows […]
December 29th, 2006 at
On second thought I don`t want any of these msn contributed & controlled ACER fake ferraries any more. I`ll stick to my LINUX-cycle, it`s fast, it`s relieable and hand&selfmade,
Dev Mani
December 29th, 2006 at
ich würde es behalten
December 29th, 2006 at
If the laptop is causing you that much trouble I will be glad to take it off of your hands for a small fee. After all it will take me a little while to get Vista off and Kubuntu installed.
December 29th, 2006 at
Eu vi que tudo mudo estão escrevendo em outras línguas nesta coluna, então decidi que desde também conheço uma outra língua, vou também fazer o mesmo. Mas vou colocar umas palavras como Microsoft para dar a aparência que estou comentando sobre este blog. Talvez também vou aumentar as palavras Laptop with Ferari logo desde que o artigo é sobre isto. Que acha? Obs: Não sou brasileiro.
December 29th, 2006 at
If you receive something of value, unsolicited, from anyone, it belongs to you. They can’t bill you for it or compel you to do something specific with it after the fact because there was no agreement in place before you received it. If they had asked you to sign some sort of contract - maybe giving you use of the laptop for 90 days - then they would have some ground to stand on. This is pretty standard for business users (demo units) and journalists (review units) and protects everyone involved. Really, someone who, hypothetically, refused to sign a simple review-hardware/software contract probably isn’t someone who they want reviewing their OS. Idiots.
December 29th, 2006 at
Hay wut are yu retardid or something? Im trying to commint but yor blog softwear is the sux0rz!
December 29th, 2006 at
Donate the laptop, and send Microsoft a bill for your time spent reviewing the laptop.
Bloggers might also want to consider putting up some legalese similar to Apples along the lines of anything you send to me becomes my property, etc. etc.
December 29th, 2006 at
[…] Now Microsoft Wants its Laptop Back - marshallk.com […]
December 29th, 2006 at
I would like to see a review of the laptop, specifically:
1. Can the Ferrari logo be removed or changed to something better. (Like the “Intel Inside” warning stickers).
2. How well does Linux run on the laptop? Are there compatibility issues?
December 29th, 2006 at
Boyce that’s a great idea for a review!
December 29th, 2006 at
I’m not sure why you’ve still got Vista on it. I would have taken the thing and had some flavor of Linux running on it already.
December 29th, 2006 at
Probably should have combined this with my first post, but I can’t believe the people they’ve sent these laptops too. No offense Marshall, but I’ve never heard your name in my life. And I doubt I’ve heard of many of the people who got them.
December 30th, 2006 at
put windows 3.1 on that bitch!!
wooo!!!
December 30th, 2006 at
[…] Es ist aber noch unklar ob man die Laptops behalten darf oder zurück geben muss. · Gelesen: 1 · heute: 1 […]
December 30th, 2006 at
[…] (as read on Marshall Kirkpatrick’s blog) […]
December 30th, 2006 at
[…] Etwas unklar ist bei dieser Aktion angeblich die Rückgabepolitik der Notebooks. Laut Berichten hieß es zuerst, man könne die Notebooks nach ausführlichem Test gerne an den Versender zurückschicken, an seine Bekannten weitergeben oder auch für sich behalten. Andere Blogger berichten darüber, dass Microsoft diese Notebooks nach durchgeführten Tests doch gerne zurück haben möchte. Was da nun den Tatsachen entspricht kann ich nicht beurteilen, aber ich würde persönlich erstmal nicht damit rechnen, einfach so ein solches Notebook geschenkt zu bekommen. Auch nicht wenn ich darüber bloggen wü