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About this site

For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Friday, June 09, 2006

Anatomy of a non-story

On May 23, Microsoft re-released its 60 MB Windows Vista Product Guide during the WinHEC trade show. Buried in the back of the document is a note: PC-to-PC sync is being removed from Windows Vista, just the latest in a long list of features Microsoft has dropped from the product.

It didn't seem like much of a story on its own, but when Microsoft revealed that it was going to cut PDF support from Office 2003 early this week, I decided that I would combine that story with the PC-to-PC sync info in an article called Microsoft Strips Key Features from Office 2007, Vista. That story appeared on Monday, June 5.

Two days later, on June 7, Gregg Keizer wrote in TechWeb News that "Microsoft confirmed Wednesday that it will yank yet another feature from Windows Vista, this time PC-to-PC Sync." I asked Greg why Microsoft had "confirmed" this information, as he didn't mention the source they were confirming (aka my story above). He never responded.

Then, late in the day on June 7, Mary Jo Foley (ahem) incorrectly reported that "Microsoft officials decided the week of June 5 to cut another feature from Windows Vista: PC-to-PC synchronization." Actually, that decision came much earlier, as noted by the May 23 release of the Windows Vista Product Guide. Curiously, Foley does get around to mentioning that fact but, alas, doesn't mention my initial article about this topic either. You know, the one that touched off her own phone calls about the topic and, eventually, her article.

Neowin linked the Foley story. Activewin and Bink.nu linked to the TechWeb story. Thanks again, guys.

This is the kind of "reporting" I have to deal with my day job. I find it exasperating. And I'm beginning to wonder if I need to do a Windows version of Internet Nexus so there will be a place on the Web that gets this stuff right.

[ Posted at 8:12 AM | Permalink ]