The cat is out of the bag, Microsoft is giving away free laptops to bloggers writing articles about Microsoft products. Could this set a precedent for other companies? Perhaps a new advertising business? Paying/bribing bloggers to write positive articles for your product? Or perhaps, will this get caught up in all the red tape that has been forming around the internet so far this decade.
While many people view these bribes as unethical, (and yes they probably are, esp. to those who are looking for unbiased reviews on said products, and haven't a clue what their reading is a paid ad) to the hard working sod who earns barely over minimum wage, and blogs in his spare time just to earn pocket change off Google AdSense, it's probably seen as a Christmas Bonus.
Read the original article for more details. Merry Christmas from Microsoft! :-)