Bundesregierung waehlt Linux

Mon, 3 Jun 2002 11:07:37 -0700

IBM signs Linux deal with Germany

You've all seen the SlashDot story probably. I big win, of course. Germany's 
Interior Minister, Otto Schilly, picked Linux to help cut costs and improve 
security in the nation's computer networks. 

The BBC article is here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_2023000/2023127.stm

But I liked the reference of one /. reader to the 
BbusinessWeek's interview of Microsoft's Richard Purcell, the man charged with 
heading up Microsoft's Trustworthy Computering Initiative. The interview ended 
with these two telling questions:

Q: In January, Bill Gates sent a memo to staff emphasizing the importance of 
trustworthy computing. Was it a turning point?

A: It's Bill's effort to put the focus of the company on one thing.... My job 
is to take that -- and Bill has given me this job very explicitly -- and 
transform the company into a different kind of company that produces products 
and services that are highly reliable, highly dependable, highly manageable, 
highly safe through security and privacy practices. 

Q: Critics would say you're not succeeding. Since the big announcement, a half-
dozen security bugs have been found in products such as Internet Explorer, MSN 
Messenger. How do explain that?

A: You can't issue a memo on Jan. 18 and, within two weeks or even two months, 
have introduced your entire product line that's consistent with that. 
Trustworthy computing, as I try to emphasize, is about process change, so that 
products can then be delivered as a result. And it's a very long-term vision -- 
5, 10 years, maybe. 

The full interview is here - 
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2002/tc20020523_6029.htm

So, how many businesses will be willing to wait on Microsoft when Linux is 
proving itself secure today?

Dennis kibbe

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