Weekly Edition
Return to the Press pageSponsored link
Vyatta –
Linux & Open Source
Alternative to Cisco –
Advanced Routing,
Firewall, VPN, QoS..
Free Download ->
| |||||||||||
Is Linux too good to be true? (Independent)
The Independent has published one
of those "installation nightmare" stories that used to be so common.
The bottom line on these stories has changed, though: "Will I give up
Windows altogether? Probably. The more I use Linux, the better I like it
despite the challenges. It hasn't crashed; it's immune to Windows viruses;
it won't fall victim to spyware, worms or hackers; and it feels (and looks)
refreshingly different. But best of all, Linux promises greater choice at
less cost. Just give it time to climb more of the Windows mountain."
(Log in to post comments)
Nice change Posted Aug 25, 2004 14:59 UTC (Wed) by farnz (subscriber, #17727) [Link] It's nice to see the mainstream press going from "Linux is different to Windows, therefore it's horrible. Avoid it!" to "Linux is different. You'll probably find it much harder than Windows, but take a look for yourself, and see if the benefits outweigh the costs."
Is Linux too good to be true? (Independent) Posted Aug 25, 2004 16:12 UTC (Wed) by iabervon (subscriber, #722) [Link] I'm amused that he managed to come up with a solution for moving files from Linux to Windows while not actually knowing what filesystem he was using on Linux. I am curious as to what he had to do to get his flat panel display to use the desired resolution, though.
Is Linux too good to be true? (Independent) Posted Aug 25, 2004 16:50 UTC (Wed) by pglennon (guest, #649) [Link] compare it with this:
Is Linux too good to be true? Posted Aug 25, 2004 17:03 UTC (Wed) by ken_i_m (guest, #4938) [Link] "...it won't fall victim to spyware, worms or hackers..."
This is too good to be true. It is still necessary to stay current with all the latest patches that apply to the software installed on the system. End user behavior (eg weak passwords) still has a significant impact.
Additionally, there are other measures that should be taken to increase the security of one's computer and the network it is attached to.
Is Linux too good to be true? Posted Aug 26, 2004 7:59 UTC (Thu) by janpla (guest, #11093) [Link] Since this person is not necessarily an expert in IT and security it is not unlikely that he doesn't mean 'immune to spyware ...' in the strictest sense - namely that it can't possibly occur, but rather that in Linux it is so much less likely to happen, even if Linux were the dominant OS.
Why is it that Windows machines so often have this problem? It's not just because people don't patch. The fact is that MS have produced SW with so many stupid features that are dangerous, with 'It's cool' as the only motivation. To mention just a few:
- Email client: HTML previewing, that not only executes Java and Javascript, but also goes out and fetches any image etc that is embedded. And apparently it can't all be turned off.
- Word: Embedded program code in a document! Which actually runs when you open the thing! I've never heard of anything quite so stupid.
- MSN IM client: I allowed my daughter to have Windows installed on her machine, so she could use MSN, which seems to be the in thing. After a short while the machine could hardly run for all the crapware that had snuck in during her normal use.
The main problem with Windows, security wise, is that you can't design a tool that looks like something from Fisher-Price and expect people to approach it like a mainframe. That's common sense - at least to most people. Just imagine a child-sized little go-cart thing in bright colours with nice rounded corners and a picture of Bob the Builder on and a 8-liter Ferrari engine inside; and no brakes, but very easy to start. A child would get in, start it and soon smash into a tree - and we have to remember that most users of PCs are as inexperienced as children when they get their first computer nowadays.
Is Linux too good to be true? Posted Aug 31, 2004 15:28 UTC (Tue) by hazelsct (subscriber, #3659) [Link]
The Linux/Unix offerings are generally far more secure, but it's important that we get our facts straight when arguing these things.
Is Linux too good to be true? (Independent) Posted Aug 25, 2004 23:52 UTC (Wed) by adfrex (guest, #24265) [Link] You do all realise that the independent while being a mainstream newspaperhas views that are not really mainstream. They influence a number of people but thats it.
Is Linux too good to be true? (Independent) Posted Aug 26, 2004 5:55 UTC (Thu) by crankysysadmin (guest, #19449) [Link] Hmm, well, then we need to define mainstream. True "mainstream" -- i.e. the majority of people on the face of this planet -- don't even have a computer. Silly comment, I suppose, but my point is it all depends on where you draw the line. In the realm of "publications which run articles containing the words 'operating system'", this one's mainstream IMHO.
Is Linux too good to be true? (Independent) Posted Aug 26, 2004 13:14 UTC (Thu) by james (subscriber, #1325) [Link] I'd disagree.UK papers divide into "tabloid" and "quality", with the Independent being the nominally middle-ground "quality" newspaper of record. It's not read by nearly as many people as the Sun (brash tabloid), true, but it's definitely mainstream. James.
Biased author Posted Aug 26, 2004 9:20 UTC (Thu) by ringlord (guest, #6309) [Link] It is nice to see such articles in a large paper, but this is no author that just 'discovered' Linux. Marcel Gagné is a columnist in Linux Journal.
Biased author Posted Aug 26, 2004 9:37 UTC (Thu) by dvandeun (guest, #24273) [Link] The author of the newspaper article actually is a new user. He talks about this Marcel Gagné, but he himself is a real newbie.
|
|||||||||||