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Hey, I'm just wondering... I've seen no posts on FR about the hidden costs of switching everyone from Windows/Office over to Linux/Star (most costs incurred by expensive to keep and difficult to work with open source training/support professionals).

I've seen few words on FR about the Alexis de Tocqueville Foundation's study correctly noting that it's difficult to characterize Linux and other open source software as inherently more secure since anyone and everyone can look at the source code.

I have seen a lot of conspiracy theories about all the illegal behind-the-scenes Micro$oft does, but I've never seen anything paranoid regarding open source software (like the idea that since open source software "powers" the Internet, a left wing group of anarchists could use that code to write a crippling virus that destroys all Internet communication and commerce in protest of globalization - which is much more plausible that Micro$oft sabotaging Real Player by including Windows Media Player bundled in the OS).

I'm just throwing that out for everyone.

We've had some threads on the AdTF stuff, they were pretty vicsious. Those kind of revolved around out of the box AdTF is right, but every Unix administrator in the known world has his own security code that he patches in and does NOT distribute. So that's kind of a toss up.

Of course you realize that since you've brought up training and conversion costs that makes you evil, clearly a MS dupe probably in their pay and sent out to secretly talk up their clearly inferior products base on lied and FUD... at least that's what the bashers always say.

I've seen no posts on FR about the hidden costs of switching everyone from Windows/Office over to Linux/Star (most costs incurred by expensive to keep and difficult to work with open source training/support professionals).

There have been many threads discussing just that, and discussing all sorts of "isn't Open Source socialism" and that kind of stuff.

I'm not a Linux guy, so I don't know much about Linux. I'm agnostic in the whole OS thing. Never had much of a preference. I'm just now starting to learn a little Linux, I have a test box on my desk with Mandrake on it that I rarely have time to touch.

like the idea that since open source software "powers" the Internet, a left wing group of anarchists could use that code to write a crippling virus that destroys all Internet communication and commerce in protest of globalization

Scott, do you actually do any software development? I cannot conceive of any decently talented software developer spouting off the rubbish that you do. If you know so much about software development that you can make such bold statements about the "inherent insecurities" of open source software then you would know that virii written for one UNIX will typically not run on another without being at least recompiled. You would also know that each service has its own user account and that unless the virus is run as root it won't be able to affect that service. Regular users don't have the permissions to activate or deactivate daemons.

Isn't it funny Scott that no major UNIX has ever suffered from the plague of worms that Microsoft's software has? How many times has the UNIX world, which does Scott, beat Win NT in marketshare on the serverside, had periods of a few years where new, crippling worms appeared every month or so? How many times Scott have major UNIX vendors had to recall server products because a poorly written module for a protocol lets an outsider root the box? How many times have people made such alarmist statements but nothing happened? Too many to count. Face it Scott, you're just trying to be a Techie chicken little.