The interminable debate over whether Apple or the Microsoft-Intel crew is more evil went ballistic this week, thanks largely to new AppStore policies on soft-core porn, and fed by a Michael Wolff column on Apple’s cult-like behavior. We, of course, will say “a pox on both their houses,” and will always encourage another look at ARM and Linux. But today we will post two examples of evil on either side of the fence, just to show our intent for fair and balanced reporting. It’s probably important to say that, regardless of corporate intent, Apple’s hard-core fans get the award for weirdest apostles out there, for the way in which they brook no criticism of their beloved St. Jobs.
But Microsoft pulled trump Feb. 24 to come out shining in the “inexcusable evil” category. It pressured Network Solutions Inc. to lock the domain of Cryptome.org (likely an inactive link), after Cryptome published alleged internal security documents of Microsoft.
The news media tend to categorize Cryptome as a “whistle-blower site”, but we would insist the site is a true news-gathering archive that follows journalistic rules better than most bloggers. It concentrates on exposing the secret policies of government agencies and large corporations. Its specialties are signals intelligence and cyber-war, but we have seen Cryptome go as far afield as exposing the likes of the Department of Agriculture or Bureau of Indian Affairs.
It’s bad enough when a large company bullies a media outlet or ISP to take down a particular post it feels is misrepresentative. But by demanding that Network Solutions close Cryptome’s domain completely, Microsoft has committed an unpardonable sin against open journalism – and it has recruited Network Solutions as an accessory to a crime! This certainly provides grist to the complaints within international Internet standards bodies that a private company like NSI should never manage domain names — though in many cases, a government agency may be just as repressive, if not more so.
Check out Gordon’s post today on why Apple should be an endless target of our skepticism and occasional derision. But keep in mind, until it remedies its latest bad deeds, Microsoft is guilty of anti-journalistic, anti-free-speech criminal behavior, and should be a target of nothing less than a boycott.
Loring
