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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Everyone should have
http://www.freedom2surf.net/
(text/plain)