Hewlett-Packard Boardroom Spying Scandal Reaches New Level of Weirdness

Associated Press (excerpt) ^ | September 21, 2006 | Brian Bergstein

[HAL9000]

Excerpt -

Hewlett-Packard Co. may be the world's largest technology company, but the superlative that better suits it these days is Provider of the World's Strangest Corporate Drama.

For two weeks, almost every day has brought revelations of questionable tactics that HP investigators used this year and last to root out who had been describing boardroom deliberations to the media. Corporate intelligence is an old and frequently practiced art, but HP's efforts feel more Watergate than Wall Street.

Not only did investigators impersonate board members, employees and journalists to obtain their phone records, but according to multiple reports, they also surveilled an HP director and a reporter for CNet Networks Inc. They sent monitoring spyware in an e-mail to that reporter by concocting a phony story tip.

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[battlegearboat]

I like their products.

I've got a work station filled with HP hardware.

[quietolong]

Since Mr. H & P have left the earth and they changed there name they have been going downhill.

[kms61]

I wasn't impressed with some of the HP equipment I've had to work with in my job over the years. However, I recently bought a Presario desktop, and so far am very satisfied.

[WL-law]

Hewlett-Packard Co. may be the world's largest technology company...

I believe that IBM is much bigger.

[battlegearboat]

I'm enjoying my widescreen hp pavilion laptop.

The only thing I don't like is the crappy battery that has never been able to provide much power. I wonder if it is Best Buy's fault or did hp under power the unit?

I'll have to ask some spy I guess.

[steve-b]

I used to like their products until I got one of their printer-scanner-copiers that sometimes refuses to scan (the display says WARMING UP, but it never does).