Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
Over here at iTWire, we are sad to say that this year we bought a Dell Latitude 620 notebook and we intend to buy an Apple MacBook. Why are we sad? Heck, Microsoft is giving away top notch Acer Ferrari branded notebooks to bloggers for free!
Actually, we're not really sad. We begrudgingly
pay for our computers because like almost everybody else that works in
this industry we accept that you get nothing for nothing.
Microsoft claims that getting its PR agency Edelman to send top of the
range notebooks powered by AMD Turion 64×2 dual-core processors and
loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate to selected bloggers comes with no
strings attached.
As Ferrari notebook recipient blogger Scott Beale noted on his Laughing
Squid blog: "I did not request that this laptop by (sic) sent to me or
sign-up in advance for it. In fact, I had no idea how or why I was
chosen to receive it. I wasn’t even aware that I was going to be sent
one until Edelman contacted me on December 20th. The email from Edelman
said that it (was) a “present” and that it was being sent with “no
strings attached”."
Microsoft also suggests through its Windows Vista team that its gift to
selected bloggers is not an attempt to bribe them. As the note to Beale
reads: "Yes, Windows Vista and AMD sent out review computers to
bloggers. Why? Because we believe in the power of community, we believe
in our product, and we are partnering with AMD to give bloggers the
best hardware experience we can."
Microsoft even suggests that the bloggers are free to return (or not)
the notebooks or give them away on their site (the favoured
recommendation). As Beale notes about a communication to bloggers from
Windows Vista team member Aaron Coldiron: "Also, you are welcome to
send the machine back to us after you are done playing with it, or you
can give it away on your site, or you can keep it. My recommendation is
that you give it away on your site."
Well I guess when you put it that way, it would indeed be wonderful to
receive a top notch notebook delivered preloaded with the top of the
range software from Microsoft to do with as you will. It would also be
nice to receive an envelope stuffed with $2000. The question for
cash-strapped bloggers of course would be whether to pay for next
month's rent, car payment and groceries or to donate the money to
charity.
Perhaps it's fitting that five days before Christmas that selected
bloggers received the ultimate present in the form of the ultimate
temptation.
David Bass
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