Suggestions for a research paper, share your thoughts please

[budtron]

I have a paper I'm currently doing research for, and could use a little help. The paper's topic is:

"How Microsoft controls public perception in order to one, retain their power and/or two, push their agenda. "

I've been gathering some articles online, but I really can't find what I'm looking for. I want to look into the amount of money Microsoft spends on advertising/press, other countries' use of Microsoft related products compared to ours, things like that.

I'm not asking anyone to do my paper for me, so please don't flame and tell me to "google it". I'm simply asking if anyone knows where I can find articles/factual evidence relating to the topic of the paper, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance..

-also, if you don't know of any evidence/facts/whatever, still share your opinion or ideas on the topic. I'm interested in what everyone has to say, and it can further my research. Thanks.

[astcell]

Your paper's title is drawing a conclusion that you are now attempting to prove. You may be better off gathering all the evidence, writing the paper, coming to a conclusion, THEN titleing the paper. Who knows, you may find evidence to the contrary.

Check out Dunn and Bradstreet, Wall Street Journal, buy some of Bill Gates' books (they are cheap now sincde they are a few years old). Find sites for standard marketing practices and see how Microsoft deviated from this. Look at other successful companies such as Dell, McDonald's, Mobil/Exxon, Wal-Mart and compare and contract these companies with the industry standard and the methodologies in the marketing studies.

Check with the better business bureau, FTC, and court dockets. Surf sites such as microsoftsucks.com and find valid leads to follow.

This sounds more like a book. I'll be your ghost writer. :>

[Neural]

I found this interesting. It concerns Lindows.com. The full article is Here

In our own battles, Microsoft is trying to shut us down using any tactic possible. Because our website is our outlet to the world, Microsoft has focused their attack there. Two years ago, Microsoft asked a US court to shut down our website and, after a lengthy investigation and hearing, the court refused. Microsoft tried again in the US, and again they were denied. More than a year later, Microsoft snuck off to Finland and, with no notice to us, asked the Helsinki District Court to block the Lindows website. (While mentioning the US lawsuit, Microsoft conveniently left out the two US Court orders denying the same request for an injunction.) The Helsinki court said sales should be halted in Finland, but refused to block the website. At this point, Lindows did not know that they had filed papers in Finland so we were not able to oppose them. Microsoft then took this ruling to Sweden and asked the Stockholm City Court to block our website and sales. Again, the Judge refused to block website, but did block sales in Sweden. Once again, Lindows was not given any notice, and was not able to oppose their actions. (This is called an ex-parte ruling, when the court decides a request without the defendant being informed or given an opportunity to respond.) Once we heard about the orders in Sweden and Finland, we went to both of those courts asking them to reconsider. These appeals are under way.

From there, Microsoft went to the Netherlands, and found a court willing to rule that simply viewing the Lindows.com website is forbidden. The District Court in Amsterdam issued an order that www.lindows.com must be made inaccessible to visitors from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Microsoft knows that there is no way to effectively block only browsers from those three countries--short of shutting down our web site to all visitors worldwide. They are now asking the court to fine us 100,000 Euro per day, for every day that the website is accessible, a sum which a small company like Lindows obviously cannot not pay. (For the record our total sales over the last two years in all three affected countries combined represent a small fraction of one day's 100,000 Euro penalty.) With Microsoft's $60 Billion in the bank, they have a virtually unlimited legal budget with which they can simply sue, and sue again, until they win.

[astcell]

One funny note. A guy made a program and called it "Explorer." Years later Microsoft made their Explorer the man sued Microsoft to get the name back. Microsoft argued that Explorer was a word out of the dictionary and no one person could claim it.

The judge agreed and Microsoft was legally allolwed to use Explorer as a program name.

What did the man do? He said he was going to go home and based on the judge's decision, write a program and call it "Windows."

[jesse]

I'd suggest that you start by "researching" proper academic writing styles and basic college level composition. That topic is nowhere near being usable as a thesis statement.

Then you might want to "research" proper "research techniques".

[budtron]

Thanks for the input so far everyone...

jesse: This isn't for a college course, I'm in high school. And the "topic" that I included in my original post isnt my thesis, its the general idea of my paper. I haven't developed my thesis yet, since my research is still very minimal. I know what you're saying though, but I had to clear it up.

[jesse]

thanks for reaffirming my faith in the public school system and the job it does preparing students for entry into universities.

[budtron]

Explain to me how a paper on propaganda and the public's perception is undermining to my education.

[bascule]

Explain to me how a paper on propaganda and the public's perception is undermining to my education.

The problem is your approach, that is to say, soliciting suggesions for sources from a forum dedicated to a convention. A big part of writing a research paper is... learning how to do research (i.e. in the give a man a fish/teach a man to fish analogy, you're asking us to give you a fish), and there are people whose jobs are to help you learn to do just that, namely librarians. Try going to the library of your local state college or university... there are people there waiting to help you learn how to do proper research.

[dandroid]

gotta love the sarcasim in this quote -

If you don't live in Belgium, Luxembourg,The Netherlands, or Sweden, click here to buy LindowsOS

-

[budtron]

There's more evidence/facts online about Microsoft than im going to find in a book. I don't want the history of Microsoft, I want articles (like what was posted by Neural). And I wanted your opinions on Microsoft in relation to my paper, something I can't get at the library. I came here because after browsing through other posts, a lot of people here seemed very knowledgeable.. so I'm sorry if I can't ask for a little help from people I think would know the most.

[jesse]

Omg He's About 2 Break

[budtron]

...

end it