[News] Microsoft 'taking security risks'

Oliver Wong · External Since: Apr 27, 2006 Posts: 1398

"Peter Köhlmann" <peter.koehlmann DeleteThis @t-online.de> wrote in message
news:eg5peb$d7j$03$2@news.t-online.com...
> Oliver Wong wrote:
>
>>
>> "Peter Khlmann" <peter.koehlmann DeleteThis @t-online.de> wrote in message
>> news:eg3vng$9i5$02$1@news.t-online.com...
>>> Oliver Wong wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Peter Khlmann" <peter.koehlmann DeleteThis @t-online.de> wrote in message
>>>> news:eg3dok$e07$01$1@news.t-online.com...
>>>>> Oliver Wong wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> < snip >
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> and between 2 and 4
>>>>>>>> during its first month (including that one from the first week).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You are extremely optimistic. And forgot *at* *least* one trailing
>>>>>>> zero
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Okay, so it's a bet: I say 2 to 4; you say... 20-40? 200-400?
>>>>>> Give
>>>>>> me a
>>>>>> number, or a number range, and we'll see who's closer.
>>>>
>>>> You didn't give a number or a number range. How many new exploits
>>>> do
>>>> you
>>>> predict Vista will have within the first month? Or are you afraid of
>>>> committing to specific answer, as it might show the extent of your
>>>> exageration when bashing Vista and Microsoft products in general?
>>>>
>>>
>>> I don't know how may there will be the first weeks
>>> But I am fairly certain that your optimistic 2 - 4 exploits are exceeded
>>> the
>>> very first week
>>
>> I don't know either, but I'm willing to make a guess, for the sake of
>> this game. You had said that I was "extremely optimistic", and had
>> "forgot
>> *at* *least* one trailing zero". Does that mean you're predicting 20-40,
>> or 200-400, or 2000-4000? Or are you going to play it safe and say "5 or
>> 6?" If the latter, do you admit that you may have been exagerating
>> security flaws in Vista? And if so, do you admit that you have a tendency
>> to exagerate flaws in Vista in general on this newsgroup?
>>
[...]
>
> What part of "I don't know how may there will be the first weeks" was so
> unclear and needs explanation?

What part of "make a guess, for the sake of this game" did you not
understand? I know that you don't *know*. I don't *know* either. I'm not
asking you to know. I'm asking you to guess.

> I am just fairly certain that 2 - 4 exploits is way too low

You also claimed that I had forgotten by *at least* one trailing zero.
If so, why don't you just make your guess to be between 40 and positive
infinity? Or 400 and positive infinity, if it turns out that I forgot TWO
trailing zeros. Or is it three trailing zeros? How many trailing zeros do
you think I forgot? I'm curious. I've told you that I think it's between 2
and 4, but you say I'm way off and totally wrong. So please, enlighten me.
Give me a ballpark figure. Is it gonna be in the hundreds? The thousands?
Something higher?

- Oliver

billwg · External Since: Aug 15, 2006 Posts: 393

Linonut wrote:
>>
> The hit counts don't mean beans.
>
Particularly when they show linux in a bad light. Everyone in COLA
knows that linux is incredibly popular and it is only the illegal
activities of Microsoft that prevent this knowledge from appearing in
the mainstream press. They would be out of business if they hadn't
bribed the courts and the Bush administration to keep them out of jail.

>
> But that's market share. Who cares? Most people do not buy Linux.
> They download it or get a CD from a friend, or a book.
>
Only the people who want to make money care about the money, sure. And
most people do not buy linux, that is for certain.

flatfish+++ · External Since: Dec 12, 2004 Posts: 2793

On Sat, 07 Oct 2006 05:49:34 -0700, billwg wrote:

>
> Linonut wrote:
>>>
>> The hit counts don't mean beans.
>>
> Particularly when they show linux in a bad light. Everyone in COLA
> knows that linux is incredibly popular and it is only the illegal
> activities of Microsoft that prevent this knowledge from appearing in
> the mainstream press. They would be out of business if they hadn't
> bribed the courts and the Bush administration to keep them out of jail.
>
>>
>> But that's market share. Who cares? Most people do not buy Linux.
>> They download it or get a CD from a friend, or a book.
>>
> Only the people who want to make money care about the money, sure. And
> most people do not buy linux, that is for certain.

My point is that virtually every single one of these *measurements* puts
Linux at the same percentage.

They all can't be wrong..

Rick · External Since: Feb 09, 2005 Posts: 651

On Sat, 07 Oct 2006 05:49:34 -0700, billwg wrote:

>
> Linonut wrote:
>>>
>> The hit counts don't mean beans.
>>
> Particularly when they show linux in a bad light. Everyone in COLA
> knows that linux is incredibly popular and it is only the illegal
> activities of Microsoft that prevent this knowledge from appearing in
> the mainstream press. They would be out of business if they hadn't
> bribed the courts and the Bush administration to keep them out of jail.
>
>>
>> But that's market share. Who cares? Most people do not buy Linux.
>> They download it or get a CD from a friend, or a book.
>>
> Only the people who want to make money care about the money, sure. And
> most people do not buy linux, that is for certain.

No duh. Do you pay for the 'free' newspaper at your convenient food store?
And there are a LOT of people that pay. I have paid for most of my
distributions. I DLed Suse 10.1, but I were to keep using Suse, I'd pau
for the next version. I DLed PCLinuxOS, if it were availabe in a bxed set,
I'd pay for it. I WILL look at the donate buttton, and will probably
donate at least as much as if I'd have paid for Suse if I keep using
PCLinuxOS.

--
Rick

billwg · External Since: Aug 15, 2006 Posts: 393

The Ghost In The Machine wrote:
>
> But I've already disproven the 0.3%-0.4% revenue share
> number, methinks. (Unless I'm missing something.)
>
What you are missing, ghost, is the market segmentation. The
discussion was in regard to client platform revenues. In FY2006, MS
had $13,209M in client platform revenue and Red Hat hardly competes
with that in any way. MS also had some $11,467M income from their
"server and tools" division which includes SQL Server, Exchange, and a
number of other things along with the Windows server OS platform. That
is where the competition with Red Hat occurs, since, for example, Dell
might sell a server with RHEL in place of a copy of Windows2K3. Same
way with IBM, HP, and other server suppliers, including Sun
Microsystems, BTW.

Linux servers are know to flow at a financial rate of about 30% of
Windows servers, which seems high when you ratio the income streams,
but that is where the two butt heads. On the desktop, there isn't much
to compete with Windows although Linspire seems to sell linux packages
to Microtel, at least, and there are a bunch of tiny linux OEMs selling
pre-installed linux. To get to 1%, though, they would have to push
some $130M worth of "support" and they are plainly not doing that as
yet.