[FroggyTheGremlim]

I have been arguing for years that the Windows monopoly is a monoculture. It will suffer the same fate as the Dutch tulip market crash, the Irish potato(e) famine, the boll weevil infestation and other monocultures over history.

If 95% of our computers are controlled by one family of operating systems, some day there will be a worldwide infection that has the potential to wipe them out.

The only answer is Diversity. I know this is a bad word with so-called Conservatives, but heterogeneity in computers is a necessary thing in a modern, wired, connected world economy.

Think about it: if all your connected computers run Windows, there is a 100% chance that a Windows infection on one of them will spread to another.

But say you have four Operating Systems in your institution; 1/4 Windows, 1/4Mac, 1/4 Linux, 1/4 some other obscure OS. If one system gets infected, the chances of the next is 1/4. The chances of ALL your systems getting the infection is (1/4)**N where N is the number of systems in your entire institution.

But as with all visionary concepts, this will be ignored until the disaster strikes. Then everyone will ask: “Why didn’t we take precautions?”

[super7man]

The only answer is Diversity.

I hear ya. I'm switchin' back to Windows 3.1.

[null and void]

Indeed.

Worse, Microsoft believes that obscurity is security.

Look at that article again:

The Stuxnet computer worm spreads through previously unknown holes in Microsoft's Windows operating system

Somehow this reminds me of the 0bama administration, everything happens "unexpectedly"...

[Still Thinking]

The only answer is Diversity.

It's our strength.

[hoosierham]

I fear systems so dependent on computers that nothing can be done;in my view there should alwys be a way for actual human control.Nor is this total interconnection a good thing.People don't realize just how vulnerable we are to some evil computer terrorist.

For your most obscure 4th OS,you might try Amiga OS !