Am an embedded systems developer, and have dealt with similar updates before.
I think the author is fair in expecting proper testing since there weren't too many variations to handle. Firmware upgrades aren't too complex, especially when you have h/w spec lock-downs. You just need to build in the right safe guards, and build a culture of thorough testing. This looks like a typical bureaucratically executed project with time+cost deadlines to meet, and narrow-minded bosses to please.
Never mind the ethics part. The fact that Bing's 'signal gathering' mechanism can be fooled into accepting some bogus links, without even an iota of content verification, illustrates a fatal flaw. I am sure developers at MS are capable people, but this throws poor light on them (well, at least in my eyes).
