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This is something I’ve never done before… posted an entry and then changed it completely later the same day. The following is a re-thought entry about the same topic, but a bit more balanced.

I like to peruse the technology news page of the BBC’s news site as I find it one of the best ways to find out what Microsoft are up to and how it’s being positioned to the public. I do subscribe to a couple of Microsoft-centric newsfeeds, but the BBC’s news site is one of the most read on the planet, so it’s important to see what’s going on there.

We’ve had several heated conversations in the office about the fact that Microsoft seem to get a lot of coverage on BBC News… too much, way too much in my opinion. Around the time of the launch of Windows Vista it seemed that BBC News was like Microsoft’s own PR agency and news service rolled into one. To be fair, some other companies get a lot of focus… Apple for example, and I’ll admit to double-standards and say that I don’t have a problem with Apple getting a lot of airtime. IBM get very little coverage in comparison to Microsoft, and the Lotus brand get next to nothing (do a search on Microsoft and IBM and compare the results).

I took this conversation further on a couple of occasions. Shortly before the launch of Sametime 7.5 there were security restrictions and all kinds of problems at the airports in the UK, and I considered how relevant real-time collaboration was. Surely the market leader in real-time collaboration bringing out a new version and tackling some of the issues of business travel was news-worthy. Well, apparently not, yet at that time Internet Explorer 7 was getting a lot of coverage.

The drivers behind what the BBC decide to cover have been explained to me - basically what the BBC think their readership would be interested in and what has a broad appeal. Microsoft and Apple are news-worthy. I was told that “the BBC don’t do product announcements” but I blatantly disagreed with this. Have a read of this article and see if you think it’s tantamount to a product announcement. And to be fair, Apple get the same treatment. Think about that idea of what the BBC’s readership would be interested in… are they given the opportunity to be interested in other options when other software vendors aren’t granted an equal shout? Lotus Symphony, a free alternative to Microsoft Office, should be of interest to consumers and businesses - not just because it’s free but also because of the importance of the Open Document Format. However, there has been no coverage of Symphony.

The one that really had me ranting (I know, hard to believe) was a few years ago when the Beeb ran a story about Microsoft outlining the future of e-mail. They mentioned that Microsoft would introduce e-mail which couldn’t be forwarded or copied to another recipient. At the time of that article that capability had been in Lotus Notes for a few years already, yet Microsoft were getting the credit for a future vision. Microsoft the great visionaries? No, just a case of Microsoft getting the airtime.

So, with this in mind (and here’s the point of all this), they’re offering you the opportunity to post questions for Bill Gates, “one of the most important men in technology over the last three decades”. The man who invented oxygen, food, television and, of course, the internet.

The BBC deliberates your line of questioning… “Perhaps you have always wanted to know what the inspiration was behind Windows. Maybe you want to know what it is like being one of the world’s richest men. Or maybe you are more interested in the philanthropic career he has planned after he steps down.”

I know the answer to what was the inspiration behind Windows… it was the Apple Mac operating system. And as interesting as all those other questions sound, I’d just like to know about the roadmap for Microsoft Exchange (as it’s clearly too big a secret to share with the world). And actually I asked that one (can’t see it being selected), and just for fun I also asked “how many Zunes have you sold and when will you admit that Apple are just completely kicking your backside in that market?”.

The BBC have a charter which includes impartiality, so surely this means that Sam Palmisano will be next week’s guest question-answerer, followed by, oooh, perhaps Larry Ellison the week after. Maybe Steve Jobs (well, that wouldn’t surprise me). But probably not.

So, here we are, the first post of 2008. After a strenuous first day back at work I arrived home to find two letters for me. Not unusual, I get post but usually it’s either a) bills or b) junk mail. Sometimes birthday cards, but typically only in January.

Since we moved in October 2006 we certainly get less casual delivered-on-foot junk mail. Where we used to live there was a high concentration of houses meaning that all manner of junk mail-delivery offenders could offload a huge volume of their wares in a short time… and hence we used to get a lot, sometimes up to ten pizza delivery leaflets a week. The day when I opened the door, screwed up a leaflet from an estate agent and threw it back at his head now seems distant.

The road we now live in is a bit of a hike for on-foot junk mail-delivery, nowhere near as many houses and wouldn’t be attempted after dark (not because of me jumping out of a bush at them - although that’s a thought - it’s just a very dark road). Hence we rarely get any leaflets through the door, which I count as a huge bonus. However…

The amount of junk mail delivered in addressed envelopes seems to be on the increase. Now, what are we constantly warned against (apart from eating too much saturated fat, binge drinking and driving while shaving or eating a bowl of cereal)? Answer: identity fraud. Who warns us against identity fraud? Answer: financial institutions, banks and credit card providers. Who sends the most junk mail which carries the risk of exposing our name and address details to potential fraudsters? Answer: financial institutions, banks and credit card providers.

Here’s my tip… when you receive junk mail from anyone and it includes a reply-paid envelope, send it back to them. It costs them money to process your incoming envelope. You can send their crap back to them and include a note saying “take me off your mailing list” or just send them back something else you don’t want. After all, they sent you some rubbish, so just return the favour.