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By Steven Musil
news.cnet.com
February 21, 2010
Devil Mountain Software has a bit of a credibility problem, according to a ZDNet investigation that revealed, among other things, that its chief technical officer is actually an alias created by a tech blogger.
Larry Dignan, ZDNet's editor in chief, revealed the ruse Sunday in a report headlined "Why we don't trust Devil Mountain Software (and neither should you)." Among his organization's findings were that the small software company's CTO, Craig Barth, was actually a longtime InfoWorld columnist named Randall C. Kennedy.
ZDNet, which is a sister publication of CNET, said it had intended to publish its findings Monday but was compelled to publish early after InfoWorld publicly severed ties with Kennedy. InfoWorld Editor in Chief Eric Knorr outlined the reasons for the move in a blog post Sunday:
ZDNet's investigation found that Barth didn't seem to exist on the Internet except when quoted in stories that appeared on sites owned by IDG, the publisher of InfoWorld and Computerworld. The company, which sells software that measures the performance of Windows has been, as Dignan described it, "a thorn in the side of Microsoft for years and is adept at garnering headlines." The company, as Dignan points out, regularly makes headlines with reports on operating system and browser performance, with a special focus on Windows.
In addition to the troubling disclosure issues surrounding Kennedy's relationship with the software company and IDG, ZDNet found that the company's software had significant potential privacy issues that could allow it to peek into customer systems and that one high-profile "client" cited by the non-existent Barth to promote the software says it has not actually implemented the software.
In an e-mail to CNET, Kennedy described himself as a "well-intentioned fool" and characterized the creation of the alter ego as a "little white lie" that was necessary to keep his controversial "shock jock"-style of writing at the publication separate from his identity as the co-developer of Windows Sentinel--a performance-monitoring tool co-branded with InfoWorld:
"Shortly after Craig Barth's debut, I informed InfoWorld Executive Editor Galen Gruman of what had transpired. Galen and I had worked closely together on the launch of Windows Sentinel, and while he did not approve of my decision he nevertheless made no attempt to alert IDG management or otherwise expose the ruse," Kennedy said. "And while I cannot confirm that Eric Knorr did or did not know of my 'masquerade,' I somehow doubt that he wasn't in the loop since the entire sad affair didn't come to a head for nearly a year after it began."
InfoWorld also said it has removed all references to Kennedy from its site and is no longer offering Devil Mountain Software's Windows Sentinel.
A search of CNET archives revealed that while the company was cited as the source of one story published by CNET News, Barth was not cited or quoted in any CNET report.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10457226-92.html
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