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Microsoft Vs. Pentagon
Microsoft fights Pentagon's software
Jonathan Krim, Washington Post
Friday, May 24, 2002
Washington -- Microsoft Corp. is aggressively lobbying the Pentagon to squelch its growing use of freely distributed computer software and switch to proprietary systems such as those sold by the software giant, according to officials familiar with the campaign.
In what one military source called a barrage of contacts with officials at the Defense Information Systems Agency and the office of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during the past few months, the company said open source software threatens security and its intellectual property. (Pffftt!! LMAO!! HAHHAHAHA!)
The effort may have backfired. A May 10 report prepared for the Defense Department concluded that open source often results in more secure, less expensive applications and that, if anything, its use should be expanded. (yeah! show billy whats right!)
"Banning open source would have immediate, broad and strongly negative impacts on the ability of many sensitive and security-focused DOD groups to protect themselves against cyberattacks," said the report, by Mitre Corp.
A Microsoft spokesman acknowledged discussions between the company and the Pentagon but denied urging a ban on open-source software. He also said Microsoft did not focus on potential security flaws. (LMAO Damn right!!)
Spokesman Jon Murchinson said Microsoft has been talking about how to allow open-source and proprietary software to coexist. "Our goal is to resolve difficult issues that are driving a wedge between the commercial and free software models," he said.
John Stenbit, an assistant secretary of defense and the Defense Department's chief information officer, said Microsoft has said using free software with commercial software might violate companies' intellectual- property rights. Stenbit said the issue is legally murky.
The company also complained that the Pentagon is funding research on making free software more secure, which in effect subsidizes Microsoft's open- source competitors, Stenbit said.
Microsoft's push is a new front in a long-running company assault on the open-source movement, which company officials have called a cancer and un- American.
Software is designated open source when its underlying computer code is available for anyone to license, enhance or customize, often at no cost. The theory is that by putting source code in the public domain, programmers worldwide can improve software by sharing their work.
Vendors of the proprietary systems, such as Microsoft and Oracle Corp., keep their source codes secret, control changes to programs and collect all licensing fees for their use.
Government agencies use a patchwork of systems and software. Proprietary software is still the most widely used, but open source has become more popular with businesses and government.
The Mitre report said open-source software "plays a more critical role in the DOD than has been generally recognized."
The report identified 249 uses of open-source systems and tools, including running a Web portal for the Defense Intelligence Agency and running network security for the Army in Europe.
Among the most high-profile efforts is research funded by the National Security Agency to develop a more-secure version of the open-source Linux operating system, which competes with Microsoft's Windows.
At the Census Bureau, programmers used open- source software to launch a Web site for obtaining federal statistics for $47,000, bureau officials said. It would have cost $358,000 if proprietary software had been used, they said.
HA! Sucked in Bill Gates!! Just the tought of Microsoft taking over the US govt defence systems is scarring the hell outta me..
WARNING! WARNING! Missile has been launched!
Oper1: Crap! press the self destruct button!
Oper2: I cant! its not working!
Oper3: Damn! the system crashed!
And thats when BSOD had a new meaning... coz it litterally was the Blue Screen Of DEATH
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rofl, where did you get this from?
i've also heard of MS doing the same thing with some south-americian country...and also failing miserably there if i remember correctly. personally, i think its great that they basically just said "no, you are idiots so STFU"(though it was phrased a bit more intelegently :) )
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i have no problem with MS as a workstation...... but as a server i really think it SUCKS..... ive had NOOOO problems with my linux server and im sure i wouldnt be able to pull off 20 day uptimes with a windows machine... id probably have to restart ever other day......
oh well..... billy boy needs to learn that his servers just DONT cut it.... i mean damn even Appel created a unix based OS (OSX) for the Mac..... catch up with the times billy!
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Im actually glad that the US government is open to alternatives that arent offered by big businesses like microsoft. It proves that maybe large corporations dont have as much sway as some believe. Also Im glad that the US government is actually trying to "Save" money by using open source solutions.
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Quote:
Originally posted here by ThePreacher
It proves that maybe large corporations dont have as much sway as some believe.
well, here we are dealing with the DOD, which is full of an entirely different type of idiots than congress is. i'm sure if it were put up to the congress a bill making it mandatory to use only propriatary software would pass without a problem, because it would mean campaign $. the people who work in the DOD need only security, as they arent elected(i dont think) and even if they were nobody would pay attention to their campagns anyway so they dont care about getting bribes(they call them "gifts", i call them bribes) from big company's.
anyway, it only makes sense to use opensource, as the Gov't usually uses the "lowest bidder" system, and you just cant bid any lower than free.
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:rofl:
This might be totally unrelated, however, I was just wondering how you think Bill Gates would survive in the Army. And maybe if the Army was too much of a career jump, he could be a contestant on "Celebrity Big Brother" or maybe do the MDA Lockup thing.
Just a thought...
