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Re: [News] Criticise Microsoft and Be Sacked

  • Subject: Re: [News] Criticise Microsoft and Be Sacked
  • From: High Plains Thumper <hpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:33:17 +0900
  • Cache-post-path: ella.cg.yu!unknown@221m35.oasis.mediatti.net
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • Organization: Internet Crna Gora NNTPCache groupie
  • References: <1567571.yIknGblzvM@schestowitz.com>
  • User-agent: KNode/0.10.1
  • Xref: news.mcc.ac.uk comp.os.linux.advocacy:1153400
Roy Schestowitz wrote:

> IT Wrestles with Microsoft Monoculture Myopia
> 
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Geer, a computer security guru with a doctorate in biostatistics from
> | Harvard University, lost his job as chief technology officer of
> | consulting company @Stake in 2003 after co-authoring a report that
> | blamed Microsoft's operating system monopoly and complex code base for
> | the frailty of the Internet.
> | 
> | [...]
> |
> | The group cautioned that the only way to prevent "massive, cascading
> | failures" was to avoid the Windows monoculture.
> |
> | [...]
> | 
> | Schneier, who did stints at the Department of Defense and Bell Labs,
> | said the monoculture risk exists beyond the desktop. "Windows has pushed
> | into mobile devices, into embedded systems, into noncomputer CPUs. The
> | threat of that cascading failure is even truer today," he said.
> `----
> 
> http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2013820,00.asp

I reminds me of the current culture of staying in the background and
avoiding controversy, because it may not be appreciated no matter how true. 
It sounds like his company fired the messenger.

This quote from the article was interesting.

> Today, we're relying on picking up the pieces," Geer said, adding
> that it's much cheaper for a CEO to invest in anti-virus, anti-
> spyware, anti-spam and patch management solutions.

However, there is a certain amount of overhead incurred with bandaids.  How
many have lost data due to viruses?  There are hidden costs.  Also, many
managers seem to only look at the short term gains and not considering
reaping the benefits of long term planning.  If it does not generate an ROI
of less than a year, it is not worth pursuing.  Those companies that plan
ahead will reap the benefits later.

Twenty years ago when I worked at McDonnell Douglas, they were looking at
short term gains.  We wanted to store laboratory test data on then video
disk media, because we could compress 30 6250 BPI 10 inch reel-to-reels
onto one disk.  Sony gave a media life of 100 years.  We could not
consistently read test data 10 year old magtape media.  They were not
willing to invest in the technology, because it generated ROI in several
years, not 1.  This is why they are now a part of Boeing.

-- 
HPT

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