I figured the whole “Windows-7-ate-my-RAM!”-thing would be one-item only, but apparently, it won’t be. Over the weekend, the situation got a lot murkier. As it turns out, Craig Barth, the supposed CTO of Devil Mountain Software, was actually an InfoWorld blogger/editor – who has been fired from InfoWorld over all this. Someone on the web who isn’t who he claims to be? Surely you jest! Update: Ars’ Peter Bright has published an article about this as well.
Over the weekend, InfoWorld editor-in-chief Eric Knorr announced that Infoworld had severed ties with one of its editors, Randall Kennedy, because Kennedy had been “misrepresenting himself” to the world as Craig Barth, the CTO of Devil Mountain Software (also known as exo.performance.network). It was this Craig Barth who made the outrageous and false claims about Windows 7’s memory usage – and several other false claims in the past as well.
“Integrity and honesty are core to InfoWorld’s mission of service to IT professionals, and we view Kennedy’s actions as a serious breach of trust,” Knorr writes, “As a result, he will no longer be a contributor to InfoWorld, and we have removed his blog from this site.”
At the same time, ZDNet published an in-depth investigation into Devil Mountain Software and “Craig Barth”, in which they indeed reveal he is actually Kennedy. In addition, they found out a number of other alarming issues.
“We asked a team of researchers to look more carefully at Devil Mountain Software and its Exo Performance Network (XPNet) to find out more about the company and its data,” writes Larry Dignan for ZDNet, “What we found is alarming: Dubious claims about the company’s products and its customers; violations of privacy involving the company’s data collection software; and Web posts and interviews with a source who appears to be certainly fictitious.”
For instance, the data connection that uploads performance information from your machine to the exo.performance.network servers was not secured – despite claims from Devil Mountain Software that they transmit the data securely. This means that data collected on your machine was sent over an insecure line to the exo.performance.network servers; anyone could’ve been listening in.
Another big issue is that of privacy. As we already know, Kennedy/Barth published performance data from Ars Technica’s Peter Bright on the web; what we didn’t know, however, was if this violated any privacy policies put in place by Devil Mountain Software. ZDNet has found out that yes, it indeed violated privacy policies.
There’s more, though. The company has made claims that it is used by large organisations such as Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, but ZDNet turned up that this is not true. “Best case scenario for Devil Mountain is that its suite is installed on a few stray PCs at Morgan Stanley in violation of security policies,” Dignan writes, “Worst case: The claims that Morgan Stanley is a Devil Mountain Software customer are fabricated completely.”
All this stuff was already found out by InfoWorld, apparently, as they fired him right before the ZDNet story hit. You might wonder why you would fire someone for using a pseudonym, but if you think a little further, it becomes quite obvious: Kennedy had been linking to what has now been revealed to be his own company quite often, using exo.performance.network’s work to backup his own claims. This is not something you’d want on a news website.
Kennedy has responded to the accusations on the exo.blog, and his claims have a decidedly black helicopter feel to them. He claims this is all a Microsoft conspiracy, out to destroy him, because “the exo.performance.network […] hit a bit too close to home” and “It was our research into Windows 7 performance that prompted Microsoft to call in its chips”.
I’ve had run-ins with Kennedy in the past, and to say I mistrusted him would be an understatement. However, I never could’ve anticipated anything like this. It just goes to show, once again, that you really need to be very careful with where you get your stories from. I can’t recall ever putting exo.performance.network’s stuff on OSNews (feel free to correct me), and it seems that my suspicions about them were correct.
Which is not to say we haven’t ever (or will never) slip up. We have, and we will.
Good to see that jerk exposed. The guy is a decent writer, and certainly has a flair for drama – that much you’ll have to credit him for. But he’s a complete fraud with apparently no technical skills
So I wonder who this “Thom Howlwerda” character will turn out to be once OS News is exposed! =P
Maybe looncraz??
Actually I think “she” mixed up the letters of her real name: “Ema Holdthrow”
Edited 2010-02-22 18:18 UTC
Thom=Woz ;-D
I’m… Thom. I’m not important enough by any stretch of the imagination (imagined or otherwise) to have pseudonyms or to use my middle initial on the web.
Oh come on don’t be so humble! 😉 Without you a good number of readers would have to get their OS news fix dredging through various sites on the net. Don’t underestimate the service you do for the OS news world. 🙂
Peace Out.
-Paul and Yeah that is my real name!
I thought that “_” was your middle initial.
Technically, it’s A. Thom Arvid Holwerda.
at last we came to know about “Arvid” :-))
Sure… and my name is Clark Kent… we got you busted, you Im-just-Thom 😉 Get out slowly with raised hands… I said: SLOWLY…
No, I’m afraid you misunderstood. We don’t think that Thom has pseudonyms to protect Thom’s identity. We think Thom is the pseudonym of a much more powerful person.
We just need to figure out who stands the most to gain from Thom’s writing. Then we need to cross check that with a list of people we haven’t seem in the same room as Thom.
Well Thom is Dutch from what I gather, and I have yet to ever see him in the same room as Paul Verhoeven. So, maybe Thom can please explain how the hell did he mess up Zwartboek, a movie that starts out beautifully but ends up with the dumbest of the dumb endings. At least it didn’t have Rutger Hauer….come to think of it, I have yet to see Rutger Hauer and Thom in the same room, much less same movie.
Ah, we only think he’s Dutch. He’s actually Australian, and answers to his given name Mick Dundee.
As for the story, I think it’s awesome that Kennedy got canned, because I think he’s an asshole regardless of whether or not he lies. Which he clearly does.
Clearly if your remove some letters on his “name” and add others you can get Chuck Norris. *Puts sunglasses on while rock ‘n roll plays in background*
Paul Thurrott has written a post claiming that InfoWorld had always been aware of the situation – and only ditched Kennedy because they new the ZDnet piece was coming:
http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2010/02/21/ins…
Kennedy makes similar claims in some of his comments on the ZD article.
There, fixed that for me (note to self: no posting comments on OSNews until after at least my 4th or 5th cup of coffee).
Anyone can claim just about anything they want to in a blog piece, and I trust Thurrott about as much as I trusted Kennedy’s opinions in the past, which is to say I trust him not at all. It’s an interesting theory, I’ll give Thurrott that much and certainly wouldn’t be uncommon given modern business ethics or should I say the lack of them.
Kennedy himself has accused InfoWorld for knowing what he was doing. Keep mind that most of those bloggers know each other personally mostly thru Microsoft press events. I think it was during last year Kennedy was dropped from Microsoft PR list and he didn’t got PR laptop for loan(it was preloaded with Windows 7). He basicly wrote lot of fud articles after that. So I’m not suprised him accusing Microsoft, althou sounds pretty paranoid.
Of course. Which is why I described it as a claim, and not a fact (pointing out a claim is not the same thing as endorsing it).
What a load of bullshit; Paul had his bullshit detector and smelt the charlatan almost 2 years ago:
http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2008/11/25/win…
So please, unless you know what the heck you’re speaking about – refrain from posting your poorly constructed opinions with such arrogant gusto as you did in your post.
Uhm, that’s not what he says. He claim ZDNet informed Infoworld prior to publishing their article. That’s quite different from “has always been aware”.
What a tangled web he weaves. I’m glad he was exposed for what he is.
Oh the drama on the internets.
…Did I ever tell you about the time I exposed a Microsoft and InfoWorld conspiracy to hide the truth about Windows 7?
My vote is with svjn!
Morglum
Oh I don’t know. Until today I firmly believed Thom was/is Thom. A real person who didn’t use a pseudonym. Now I have a niggling doubt. Maybe he really is, as another poster suggested, really Linus. I have never seen them in the same room together.
Never mind that I have never met either one in person.
Climate-change research data manipulated.
“News” outlet promotes movie without revealing they’re a major investor……
Now, shady journalism to enhance someone’s bank account…
Business as usual in the world of journalism. Just like mom taught me, don’t believe everything you read.
http://www.the-source.com/2010/02/my-interview-with-devil-mountains…
Classic.
Edited 2010-02-23 11:29 UTC
Well, I suppose today is as good a day as any to reveal that I have been lying to all of you for years now; I am actually a semi-articulate cabbage with a combover.
“I’m sorry, Bridget, but can I steep some identificaption?”
http://hrwiki.org/wiki/Senor_Cardgage