"Disclosure: when I got back from Virginia this morning a Palm Pre was waiting for me. I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t know it was coming. It is only for seven days (I have to send it back). Now, that said, I think it’s a valid question to wonder what Mike is wondering. It’s something I always ask myself when I get goodies from the industry. Did I get these because I’m too nice? I used to be on the inside with the Amazon Kindle team, for instance, then did a nasty review of the unit, and I haven’t been given a review unit since. I did give the Palm Pre a nice review back in January at CES and have generally been pushing it pretty nicely for them since. I think it’s a great device and the first one I’ve seen that comes up to Apple’s standards for fit and finish. Getting the review unit today doesn’t change my feelings about that. As for questioning Leo’s ethics, I’ve seen many times that his ethics are above question and I agree that getting your ethics questioned isn’t fun and isn’t..." - Robert Scoble

well said!!! - Calvin Ayre

The topic certainly could have been raised more respectfully and diplomatically. It's a concern that could have been addressed then the conversation could have moved on. - Jack&Cleo

Just read this, and after reading the negative comments given by people after Leo had closed the Gilmore Gang episode. I tend to have mixed thoughts. - Matt Ruiz

quick question - instead of suggesting foul play and questioning reviewers ethics, did arrington ever think it might be his promise to never honor an embargo that meant they didn't get one? - Richard Lawler

wondering how u get product(s) 2 be reviewed Robert? I am new in reviewing tech products. - polou/indigo_bow

I guess Leo likes everybody except Bob Parsons and Michael Arrington. Thank You Terry Baldwin MILL ROSE INN LUXURY GARDEN SUITES <http://www.millroseinn.com/> http://www.millroseinn.com Classic European Elegance By The Sea 615 Mill Street, Half Moon Bay CA 94019-1726 Phone: (650) 726-8750 800-900-ROSE (7673) Fax: (650) 726-3031 Email: tb@millroseinn.com - Terry Baldwin from email

polou: PR people make lists of people with large or interesting audiences (to them). How they do that? A variety of ways. - Robert Scoble

Leo actually is given suprisingly little access to new products, this one quite rare - David Lloyd

Both Leo and Michael are out of line here: Leo for blowing his top, and Michael for not letting Leo even begin his statement/review. I'd like to see some sort of public making-up on this issue. I would hate to believe that a little piece of plastic would engender such hostility between two grown men. Makes me sad ;_; - Carlton Prest

Leo apologized to Mike on Techcrunch. - Russellreno

Cristo: I laughed at this. I'm sorry but that's Hilarious. - Matt Ruiz

The Gang has never been "family friendly", it's just recently Leo has heavily moderated the discussion, and kept things going out of control. - Greg Byrne

I think Canter's marijuana buds maybe were medicinal marijuana? - Thomas Hawk

no but the peace offering and apologies accepted on the site in public is excellent, nice to see that right on the same page for a change. - Dan owns Comicsforge.com

Leo said on Windows Weekly 2 weeks ago that he was getting a PRE and that it was a review unit and he had to send it back. - Chris Patterson

Christo, I know the feeling. - Thomas Hawk

Isn't that kind of attack-approach exactly how Techcrunch gets much of its traffic? They understand how to make a buzz. Reading Mike Arrington swearing at people on the comments for that post, shows this attack-approach (what Leo called Trollishness) in action. I'm not a fan of Mike Arrington, but when it comes to getting noticed, the guy's a master. He has the traffic results to prove it. - Jim Connolly

For the whole story, both parts are here: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/TheGill... - Jack

"The topic certainly could have been raised more respectfully and diplomatically." The words "respect" and "diplomatic" do not exist, in my estimation, in Mike Arrington's vocabulary. This from a guy who whines that his job is so hard he has to take a month or two off from the stress every year. Stop being such a giant blowjob critic, and you'll still get bj's. Act like a cretin the way he does, ain't nobody goin' down on him. For the record, not that I'm a big TC reader, but I'll blocking his page from my network. - Dave Martin

Ok, so I commented on @Techcrunch article and I got censored (and banned). Here is what I said (in a polite and respectful. Basically I said that "I think that @Arrington asked a leading question and insinuated that the Leo's opinion was not going to be honest because he got a review unit. Leo overreacted, but Michael was not innocent either. I think that @Arrington would not have asked the question if he would have had gotten a Pre. Also, @Arrington's point on conflict of interest is a little miss-placed. Commercial Bloggers/Podcasters are always on the gray line (which I have nothing against). For example, given Mike's personal investment in Seesmic, the “add a Video Comment with Seesmic” at the bottom of every Techcrunch post might be seen as a conflict of interest. It might not be, I do not know, but again, anything can be spin one way or another." - Jeremy Chone

i love friendfeed.. threads like this are only here.. ppl on twitter are totally unaware of what is going on here.... thanks scoble! - Jason Pollock

I thought this was hilarious. I don't know much about either of them but Laporte seems to have exaggerated quite a bit. Maybe there is history between them but it was a completely valid question/point. They have apologized to each-other now though so it's all fine... but a good viral video they created there hehe - Marko Saric