I'm really not going to get started in this one...well, except:
On Thu, Sep 11, 2003 at 09:52:04AM -0400, Jason Dixon wrote:
> The one advantage Linux/OSS has over the proprietary market is a
> *proven* track record of fast patching. *This* is where Linux/OSS
> excels.
Well, actually, in your attempt to be impartial, you're short-changing OSS/
Linux/GNU. Yes, there is fast patching. But there's much more:
o OS allows you to actually audit what you're installing--from source.
No, not everyone has the staff, time, or skills to do that; but you can, if
you need to. Contract, hire, learn, whatever. AND, you can be quite certain
that dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people--developers who are NOT on the
payroll of the company selling the software--have been in and through, and
contributed to, the code you're running. This is a non-trivial advantage.
o Package installation is incremental and documented.
Much of what is known about any binary-distribution proprietary operating
system and environment is derived from trial-and-error or inadvertent
divulgence; Windows is worse than most in this case. There are strange
and marvellous interactions, deliberate and accidental, between components
of the system that logically shouldn't interact; and you have little
choice about whether or not to install, let alone deactivate, many
services or components of Windows. You really do have a choice, from
uninstalling or simply not installing unwanted/needed packages, up to
reconfiguring and rebuilding the kernel. (And believe me--I've been in
Unix since around 1980. The Linux kernel is exceedingly easy to rebuild.)
Not just disabling, but actually being able to remove components, packages
and services you don't need, is a tremendous step in securing a system.
Likewise, being able to KNOW what you're running, and KNOW that many, many
people who don't have a vested interest in the system have examined the
code, is a huge win.
Cheers,
--
Dave Ihnat
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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