Stardock involvement with Neowin FAQ


Recommended Posts

I've put together a little FAQ due to the ill informed comments here. Neowin is a self sustaining independent company, we don't receive money from Stardock, and they also won't determine our fate like other sites that are taken over by large companies such as AOL. Neowin will disappear when we can't fund ourselves, and even then Brad probably wouldn't take that lying down as he is partly responsible for turning Neowin from a hobby into a company.

Q: Does Stardock own Neowin?

A: They have a 40% stake in Neowin, with 60% equally shared between the two founders Steven Parker & Marcel Klum.

Q: Why?

A: Stardock turned us from hobby site into a limited liability company (at their own cost) which also included legal representation and a budget to buy our own servers.

Q: What changed as a result of Stardock involvement?

A: Not much, we already covered Stardock news before they became involved in 2005 and Brad Wardell was actually already a newsposter as well (and a member since 2002). Additionally we immediately became self sustaining and didn't have to rely on 3rd party rented servers. We went from being hosted on one (rented) server, to the current 5 of which Neowin LLC owns.

Q: Why did Stardock want to become involved?

A: For the first 3 or 4 years Neowin leaked a lot of Microsoft information about Windows, Microsoft was also (unintentionally) able to get our server wiped once, and we've been taken offline a number of times because we didn't have control over the server. Brad wanted to give us the opportunity to control our own destiny which from 2005 onward is exactly what has happened.

Q: Is Neowin required to cover all Stardock related news on Neowin?

A: Simply put, No. Compared to other news sites we cover very little Stardock news, and Stardock as a shareholder has every right to require this, although Brad feels that Neowin needs to stay independent. Whatever news we do cover is because our staff want to cover it.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

Can you talk more about the Microsoft server wipe? What happened there, or is this best for another thread?

Here you go http://news.cnet.com/2100-1025-991624.html this was the worst of the problems we had with Microsoft, but they continued well into 2004 which is when Brad contacted me and said "lets do something about this".

  • Like 1

Did you guys asked Microsoft for an elaboration, as Tom said that they didn't contacted you but you were told by the ISP.

Sounds to me a bit too harsh

Microsoft later admitted it was a communications error, normally they would have contacted us, but the legal company representing Microsoft decided to go straight to the provider instead (who panicked for some reason). In their (Microsoft's) defense they offered a team to get us back online and other things such as hosting, which we declined.

I don't understand where the "Ill Informed" comments are coming from. Those posters said Neowin is 40% owned by Stardock and you just confirmed it? So where is the misconception coming from. Seems people are more informed than you give them credit for.

The ill informed is that we're required to cover Stardock news, or that they pay us as well. I wanted to clear that up :)

  • Like 1

The ill informed is that we're required to cover Stardock news, or that they pay us as well. I wanted to clear that up :)

Ok I understand. I've never believed in my mind that you guys have ever covered them more than any other company and I think you guys are quite objective with your stardock coverage and always have been. (Y)

  • Like 2

Ok I understand. I've never believed in my mind that you guys have ever covered them more than any other company and I think you guys are quite objective with your stardock coverage and always have been. (Y)

Thanks :) I've also instructed the newsposters to include a link to this post when we cover Stardock news in future, as a sort of disclaimer.

I don't understand where the "Ill Informed" comments are coming from. Those posters said Neowin is 40% owned by Stardock and you just confirmed it? So where is the misconception coming from. Seems people are more informed than you give them credit for.

There are people in there claiming Brad Wardell was influincing the creation of some "negative" Windows 8 editorial articles to somehow benefit Stardock.

They invested in Neowin and now own 40% of it, Doesn't mean we have to like their products or views. Just means they have their posts babysat to make sure no trolls upset them.

No comments were deleted from that newspost that I know of, even if I don't like the unjustified harshness directed toward them. You should give us a little credit Shaun :p

There are people in there claiming Brad Wardell was influincing the creation of some "negative" Windows 8 editorial articles to somehow benefit Stardock.

Yeah that isn't true, the editorial I did was my own words and many other sites have posted similar views. Just because Brad has a problem with it doesn't mean we have to. Plus those editorials were written before Brad said his piece publicly.

I didn't say any posts were removed, just that there are a lot of posts with negative views on and as soon as one from Stardock gets some it warrants another thread reasserting their position. It's like a rank pulling thing an it's if anything makes me not like them a little bit more each time, even if it's not requested by them.

There are people in there claiming Brad Wardell was influincing the creation of some "negative" Windows 8 editorial articles to somehow benefit Stardock.

I don't believe that. And I agree with what Brad said.

I think there is a lot of bias from many people that seem to have this notion that anything bad posted about Windows 8 is trolling or has an ulterior motive behind it. The fact is Metro is a very controversial feature that has split people down the middle on if they like it or not and the people who like it need to accept the fact that there is a large amount of people that don't and that they are free to air their opinion just like those who like it are.

And to be honest it makes no real logical sense as to why Stardock would choose to push negative articles about Windows 8 because they will make a mint selling software to bring back the normal Windows 7 desktop experience once Windows 8 ships. No question.

  • Like 3

I didn't say any posts were removed, just that there are a lot of posts with negative views on and as soon as one from Stardock gets some it warrants another thread reasserting their position. It's like a rank pulling thing an it's if anything makes me not like them a little bit more each time, even if it's not requested by them.

The Start8 posts didn't warrant this kind of response, the comments in the linked article did. I don't like having to sit back and allow people to spout something which is untrue. We should be able to tell it like it is because otherwise people who know no better will start to believe the comments. I also agree we need to add a disclaimer to the posts in future and this topic provides that.

I've known about Neowin since 2004 or something like that and this is news to me, had to idea Stardock owned parts of Neowin.

Never felt there was too much Stardock news. If anything else I'd say there isn't a whole lot considering all the different programs they have. When was the last time there was a news post about WindowBlinds, for exemple.

  • Like 1

It's sad how threads like this become necessary again and again, isn't it?

Sad or childish?

The part about "Why did Stardock get involved"... You have noted that they did this as a result of Microsoft's harassment (?) of Neowin. But what was their motivation? Why do they care?

+1

I too would like some clarification on this.

Sad or childish?

Sad. The Stardock involvement with Neowin has been explained countless times. It shouldn't be necessary for Neobond to have to explain it again.

  • Like 3

The Start8 posts didn't warrant this kind of response, the comments in the linked article did. I don't like having to sit back and allow people to spout something which is untrue. We should be able to tell it like it is because otherwise people who know no better will start to believe the comments. I also agree we need to add a disclaimer to the posts in future and this topic provides that.

Personally I think you exposed yourself to criticism when you jumped in and attacked rfirth's perfectly reasonable comment. You've got to admit it doesn't look great when the owner of a site with such strong links to Stardock jumps in to defend them so quickly.

It also seems strange that Stardock's opinion warrants a news article given the fact that they are a fairly irrelevant company.

  • Like 2

The article was only created because they own part of the site. which is the only reason Startdock invested in Neowin, and everyone knows that. No one honestly cares about Stardock's views on anything.

To say Neowin receives no money from stardock is just silly as well. They pay your legal fees and servers costs. So basically they pay for neowin to be online, and without them you wouldn't do as well, As you stated years ago when Neowin sold out.

Why the hell are you arguing with the owner of the site? He knows more than you about the operation behind the scenes, so just shut up spreading these BS lies.

  • Like 2

It's sad how threads like this become necessary again and again, isn't it?

Indeed, on the other hand though, it's good to see they are created to get anything out of the way and not sit there in a stubborn manner and wait for the shi*storm to fade.

This ensures that Neowin gives a damn about its reputation in terms of ties and dependencies.

I can't say Neowin is overly praising Stardock. I don't read the software news about SD products too often, but when I do I never had the thought that our affiliation influences the coverage in any way.

And I've been a long standing member (even longer standing visitor, but that goes well before the incident and the transition to a LLC) and I must say I'm very confident about all this.

Just my 2?

Glassed Silver:mac

  • Like 2
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I am not a US citizen nor a Trump fan. Respect to both left and right. But I will, for the sake of fun, predict something for my own. There will come a day when the US and China will collide like titans ( over Taiwan or anything else ). Then, on that day, some people in this comment section will realize how good an idea it was to become independent in areas like that. ( Or atleast try )
    • Microsoft Edge gets tons of security features, including AI model that can see your screen by Usama Jawad Microsoft Edge may not be the most popular browser out there, but it does receive quite frequent updates that sometimes bring surprising new features and axe others that are not as popular. Now, Microsoft has detailed some of the new security enhancements that it has introduced in Edge for Business, typically used by commercial customers. Microsoft has emphasized that security features are baked into Edge for Business and offer native integration with security and governance tools like Defender and Purview. Browser sessions are governed by default on managed devices but can also be governed through dedicated work profiles on unmanaged devices. An important aspect in this area is controlling the use of shadow AI. We have talked about this before, but it essentially restricts employees from using unsanctioned AI apps through data loss prevention (DLP) policies, with Edge redirecting them to trusted AI services like Microsoft 365 Copilot. This feature, available as a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) license, ensures that confidential data never exits AI boundaries set by your organization in Purview. Additionally, Microsoft also has strong DLP policies for contractors. Contractors leveraging a Entra ID-joined work profile provisioned by their contracting company on a device managed by their actual employer can be restricted from downloading files locally. In such scenarios, the file is saved on the contracting firm's OneDrive rather than being downloaded locally. Another useful Edge security feature disallows copying and pasting from unmanaged locations and apps. Similarly, DLP policies can be configured at a granular level to restrict screenshots or downloading of files from certain locations. In the same vein, IT admins can block the installation of extensions, hosted apps, themes and scripts, and control if users can install extensions from external locations. They can also enable the installation of specific extensions and allow users to request access to certain extensions, so that they can be managed on a case-by-case basis. Finally, Edge for Business now has an on-device AI model that uses computer vision to see what's on your screen and block potentially malicious content immediately. This does not rely on site reputation, as it simply monitors what is being displayed on your screen, which means that it is effective against malicious content that takes over your screen and employs scareware tactics. Since this is an on-device AI model, it does use your system's resources, so it's enabled by default only on devices with at least 2GB of RAM and four CPU cores. You can find more details in the Microsoft Mechanics video here.
    • Could you come up with a slightly less depressing background for Tux instead of that gray gradient? Doesn't have to be cheerful, just less of a downer...
    • Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start by Paul Hill Credit: Larry Ewing It has been a few weeks since the release of Linux 7.1, and in that time, the Linux 7.2 merge window has been open, where developers can submit their features and patches ready for the upcoming release. That window is now shut, and the release candidate phase has begun so that new features can be tested and further fixes applied. According to the founder of Linux, Linus Torvalds, this week’s release candidate looks “reasonably normal”. Although we are super early in the release candidates, this is a good sign as it makes it more likely that an eighth release candidate will not be needed. Torvalds even mentioned that the update’s stats are only larger than they really are because there was another AMD header drop with a third of the patch just being AMD GPU register definitions, which aren’t big changes but make the code contributed look larger overall. In addition to this, he noted that just over half the patch is drivers, even when excluding the AMD register dump. The rest of the changes are spread out over architecture updates, tooling, documentation, and core kernel updates. In the next week, Torvalds says that he will be chilling out, taking the week “mostly off”. Despite this, he will be reading emails and keeping up with things, so if he is slow responding, now you know why. He said he is hoping for a calm week, but we will just have to see if the second release candidate is actually like that. We should expect seven or eight release candidates before Linux 7.2 is released, so expect it around the end of August. If you missed it a few weeks ago, be sure to check out our coverage of Linux 7.1's release.
    • Ridiculous claim that the labor cost difference of $6000 annually would increase cost per phone by $200. The employees produce 3 phones per month or what?
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Zeynel earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • One Month Later
      JKR earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Dedicated
      Asgardi earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      496
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      248
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      154
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!