Why Computer Companies Shouldn't Be Part of News: MSNBC Online

There's  a strange dual personality for MSNBC. On one hand, you have the cable network, and as far as technology goes, they tend to take a hands-off approach, with little news beyond big product launches. On the other hand, you have msnbc.com, which every once in awhile, will stick a stinker of a bias tech story in there, that just makes you scratch your head. And so it goes with today's article, "Has The Mac Lost Its Cachet?" Author Dan Richman, hiding behind that headline with a question mark on the end, (fine for bloggers I say, but not "real" news) goes on to explain just why it could be lights out for Apple. Oh sure there are other computer companies doing worse, and yes he's pulling a stat that he admits only shows the one month in which Apple saw a decline. But surely that's enough evidence that Apple's about to coming crashing down, right? And it's just a coincidence that this comes on the heels of Microsoft's new ad campaign (Microsoft being the "MS" in MSNBC) touting how expensive a Mac is compared to a PC. Dan spends the first half of the article repeating the same mantra found in the commercial. (It's even more strange since we uncovered that Steve Jobs works at MSNBC. :) )

There may very well be valid points in the article, but I know if I was the news editor of a company that's a joint venture with MSFT, and I wanted to ensure objectivity, I wouldn't go anywhere near this story. I think there would be anger in the general public, if say there was a network called CNNGM, a partnership with General Motors,  that then ran a story questioning whether Fords were really worth it.

Steve Jobs Working at MSNBC

I know, I know, we were just as surprised as you, but the photo doesn't lie. Below is a screen capture from MSNBC. Do you notice a familiar looking person in the background? Clearly Jobs has totally pulled a Bueller on Apple, and is working as a low-level producer at MSNBC while everyone thinks he's off sick. Sneaky!

There is the off chance that this is merely someone who has a passing resemblance to Jobs, but what fun is that?

Media tries to create bluetooth scare

Can your phone be hacked over bluetooth? Probably. Is that going to happen while you're going down the road at 70mph? Probably not. That didn't stop msnbc from putting together this scare piece on bluetooth hacking. Not sure what the fact that smartphones have wifi has to do with bluetooth? We're not sure either. I guess the safety message is, if you're on the highway and someone next to you is wildly trying to enter passcodes, while staying within 20 feet of your headset, well they might be a hacker. The report never quite explains how this whole data stealing scheme works, or even manage to find a victim to interview. Invoking bluetooth fright is enough. Enjoy: