Microsoft Warns of Critical Windows' Flaw (Windows users alert)

Reuters ^ | Tue February 10, 2004 04:09 PM ET | By Reed Stevenson and Elinor Mills Abreu

[pax_et_bonum]

ping

[Swordmaker]

hence, nobody really cares.

Gee, and here I thought you cared. . . sniff. ;)

Nobody uses Macs...

You're probably right, there are only about 10,000,000 of us nobodies out here... including:

President George W. Bush
Rush Limbaugh
Ann Coulter
G. Gordon Liddy
Milton Friedman
Mel Gibson
Clint Eastwood
Tom Clancy
Paul MacCready - Gossamer Condor and Mac!
Burt Rutan - Aeronautical Engineer and builder of the globe cirlcing Voyager plane (which runs on a Powerbook)
Buzz Aldrin - "the Mac is outta this world!"
Spike Lee
Vaclav Havel
Fleetwood Mac - Well, with a name like that you think they'd use a PC???
Peter Jackson - a "Ring"ing endorsement
Mario Puzo - "Make an offer you can't resist... use a Mac!"
Gerry Spence -Constitutional attorney with a pony-tail and a Mac.
The Flying Karamazov Brothers - Macs really help us juggle our files?
Katie Kouric (Choke)
Michael Jackson - uses it to try on new faces?
Tom Brocaw (Urk)
Dr. Murray Gell-Mann - Nobel Laureate Physics
Ice T
Dr. Roger Guillemin, M.D., Ph.D, Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology
Mannheim Steamroller
Dr. Donald Glaser - Nobel laureate Physics
Michael Crichton - definetly someone who knows futuristic.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Laureate Literature
Madonna
The Late Dr. Timothy Leary - "What a trip!"
Leonard Nimoy - "Macs live long and prosper!"
William Gibson - 'Cyberspace' was created on a Mac!
Bob Dole - It didn't help him keep Clinton out of office...
Stephen Sondheim - Sweeney Todd made him do it!
Mikail Gorbechev
The Grateful Dead
Boris Yeltsin
Al Gore - Ex VP and statue
Martha Stewart - but only to do insider trading?
Douglas Adams
The Late Seymour Cray - yes, THAT Cray... as in supercomputer.
Roy Disney
Michael Eisner
Sir Roger Banister - "I'd run a mile for a Mac!"
Francis Ford Coppola
George Lucas
Malcolm Forbes, Jr.
Bill Gates!!! - Yup!
Scott Adams - "Dilbert"
Oliver Stone
Gray Davis - as I "recall"
King Hussein
Jim Cameron - a "titanicc" user
Robert Zemeckis

All real nobodies.

[Sabretooth]

And I bet they're all real happy with the 6 games they make for the Mac. Us folk on PC know those games are cool because we've played them all 3 years ago.

Yes I know this quote is shamefully stolen, but it still proves a point.

[Swordmaker]

And I bet they're all real happy with the 6 games they make for the Mac.

Most of us adult Mac users utilize our computers to be productive... not play games. Look at that list. Do you see anyone on there that you would suspect spent their time playing the latest and greatest 3D graphic kill-the-bad-guy game or even FreeCell for that matter or do you see a list of people who work hard and get the job done?

Mac users are interested in productivity, not time wasting. That is why we selected a computer that promotes productivity rather than impedes it!

[Bush2000]

You're probably right, there are only about 10,000,000 of us nobodies out here... including...

Grrrrrrrreat. Maybe you can all enjoy one big circle-jerk while reassuring yourselves how "enlightened" you are that the unwashed masses have rejected your choice in computing...

[Bush2000]

Most of us adult Mac users utilize our computers to be productive... not play games.

You have a woefully inadequate notion of what constitutes "wasting time". Some people would consider browsing the web to FR "time wasting"; to others, it's a positive and rewarding experience. Same deal with movies, music, literature, etc. I realize that it's the only defense you could think of. But that doesn't endow it with any better rationale.

[Swordmaker]

...the unwashed masses have rejected your choice in computing...

Bush, you were the one claiming "nobody" and I just invalidated your argument. Being wrong doesn't mean you have to be crude.

[Swordmaker]

I realize that it's the only defense you could think of. But that doesn't endow it with any better rationale.

Bush, I have always been interested in the most productive computer I can own. So far, Windows has failed to impress me in that area.

I make MONEY with my computers when I am not 'wasting time' surfing FreeRepublic... and I have five Windows computers around here. Two running XP, one running 2000, one still on 95 and another on 98. I still perfer to use a Macintosh. These computers are here so I can run copies of my clients' vertical software on machines similar to the ones in their businesses. I occasionally need to run their software so I can advise accurately over the phone on processes where they are having problems.

I can be much more productive on my G5 Macintosh on other things I use my computer for than any of those other machines... and that is what counts for me. At any one time, I have between 20 and 25 business clients that depend on me to keep their computers and networks running and secure. Four or Five of those businesses operate on Macintoshes... and the level of complaint and problems from them is extremely low. About the only time they need me is for upgrades or advice on some area of their software they don't use too often.

I regret I cannot say the same about the PC using businesses. The PCs businesses experience "downtime" about 10 -15 times more often than the Macs. When they are down, they are down longer. All of this impacts productivity. Since my Mac clients were moved to OS-X, downtime has been non-existent at their businesses due to computers.

In the real world, people want their computers to enhance their ability to make money. Playing games is nice... but it is not what pays the bills.

[Astronaut]

Another Microsoft fanboy repeating the party line. I wont be able to convince you that OS X is as inherently secure as Windows is vulnerable, so I wont even try. Its like arguing with a liberal.

[DB]

I'm not a "Microsoft fanboy" and nowhere did I say so. Microsoft clearly has serious security issues (among other things)

You're the one with the arrogant blind attachment to an operating system/company.

[DB]

Well I use my computer to "make money" as well. I don't do too bad at it either.

All of the major engineering programs I use (Mentor Graphics and Xilinx ISE6 among others) are only available for HP & Sun workstations and PCs running 2000 or XP Professional.

There are no Mac equivalents. If a Mac were what was required I'd be using a Mac as well.

So this position that only "serious productive" people use Mac's is false to put it kindly. It depends on what type of productivity you are engaged in. Mac's still have their niche areas but it is shrinking.

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh - enough with the hatchet job and hyper language. MS issues "Critical" updates as they need to and have them ready. I am notified of them and I download it. 30 seconds. This is not new, complicated or unexpected.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't let my PC anywhere near the web anymore.

Far more paranoid than is necessary, but wherever you find comfort....

[HairOfTheDog]

Anything that is popular is vulnerable.

Virus writers get more bang for their time disrupting big numbers of WIN users than they would annoying relatively few mac users. It is return on investment.

[Snowy]

At home I use Linux (Red Hat 9) only as of last weekend. Does anyone know off the top of their head the number of Linux users compared to MAC users? Since I made the switch I've had a warm and fuzzy feeling. :)

[Snowy]

Bump! Paying for an operating system is so 20th century... :)

[mercy]

Still pounding away on a gimpy desktop machine? How quaint.

I dare you to take a test drive on a Powerbook.

[mercy]

Computer gaming is a sure sign of a damaged psyche. Or at best damaged character.

[TechJunkYard]

Anything that is popular is vulnerable. Virus writers get more bang for their time disrupting big numbers of WIN users than they would annoying relatively few mac users. It is return on investment.

Oh, okay. It's because Windows is popular. I see.

It's got nothing to do with the "features" of Windows, which make it easier for idiots to use it, which also make Windows easier to exploit.

Got it.

[ryanjb2]

I have been using PC's since I was in elementary school, and I have never had a virus. On top of that, Windows XP has been an excellent operating system in almost all regards. I have never been hacked, or compromised in any way.

The vast majority of Windows users are non-technical. Nearly everyone who uses Linux or some Unix variant is extremely technical. Its not surprising that people who run those operating systems take good care of their systems and do simple things to protect themselves.

If you somehow suddenly shifted all current Windows users onto Linux, the problems would follow them onto the new platform. Whoever has the dominate market share is going to experience most of the problems.