Here is a nice article that explains why Microsoft software products are inherently more insecure and a greater threat to network security than Linux and Mac OS X. The few people who read this site are almost surely aware of this, and I think that close to two-thirds of the forum posters are non-Windows users. But this is an important point that bears consideration by the general person, as it is yet another front on the war against ignorance and the struggle to actually make the world a better place.
Microsoft's software and OS are fundamentally flawed and structured in ways that make it much easier to infect with viruses and worms. Even after the big virus attacks of the late 90s, people (vendors, users and administrators) still didn't learn their lessons and ship software in insecure default modes, use such software in such modes, and have failed to maintain up-to-date systems, respectively. If Linux and/or Mac OS X were ever to achieve the penetration and domination on the desktop and in the workplace that Microsoft currently enjoys, we would most definitely NOT see the same types of virus attacks perpetrated against them. They are just build in fundamentally different ways. Virus infections would still be possible and would still occur, but not on the insanely grand scale we see with Microsoft products.
Just to be clear, I'm a Mac user, but I don't think that what I'm about to say is really all that biased. The state of the Mac platform is excellent right now, both for pros and consumers. Arguments about Macs being incompatible are nothing but ignorant, and stability isn't even a question. They are more secure than Windows as well. It is true that entry level Dell's have a faster clock speed processor than you'd get on an entry level Apple machine, but performance is on par. Price isn't a difference anymore either: similarly configured machines cost the same. Yeah, you can build your own from raw components cheaper, but I'm talking about regular consumers like parents.
The software offerings on Macs are incredible. The iLife software package for music, video, pictures, and DVD authoring are wonderfully easy to use. On the pro side, high end applications are best run on Macs, be it audio/visual stuff or workstation applications. A lot of miniscule shareware isn't executable on Macs, but that is a good thing due to the security risk and system instablility introduced by 3rd party software so often.
Linux is a decent system too but it just isn't a consumer operating system. I can't imagine anyone responsibily recommending that their parents download and install linux.
The point of this gushing rant is that we need to work to help convert people away from Microsoft. It makes the world a better place. If you have a chance, recommend a Mac. If they complain that it is too expensive, show them that it really isn't. If they persist, remind them of the cost of dealing with a virus infection.
I meant to just talk about the problems of complacency that persisted when an inferior product achieves market dominance and I ended up evangelizing about Macs. Sorry about that.
Posted by Nutrimentia at October 7, 2003 09:25 PM | TrackBack