Failed Windows XP upgrade downs 60,000 UK Government PCs

We see the Microsoft ads that go something like this: "Make a name for yourself..... Mr. 500 PCs updated in 10 minutes"
Now, the real stories are revealed all over the news.
The facts are "Mr. 60,000 Windows PCs downed with the click of a button"

How can this happen in an enterprise let alone in the UK Government?

Microsoft markets Windows as so easy to use that incompetent IT staff flood the market. Mickey mouse here pays $10,000 for a silly MCSE that is only another marketing tool for MS and that everybody can easily get. It's only about money. Any decent IT professional can tell you stories about how incompetent MCSE holders can be. Not all of course but at least smart ones will not fall into Microsoft's monopoly and greed traps. Smart IT Professional will stand firm and demonstrate their knowledge of different Operating system such as Netware, Linux, and of course windows.

Now, back to why exactly Microsoft is guilty. The reasons are many we can write books about Microsoft's flaws. However, apparently according to reports, EDS was applying a patch, patches that are release by Microsoft. They are issued to fix the previous patches that where released the day before, the week before and so on and on and on. Microsoft is patching patches on top of patches. These patches are code that makes changes to the operating system, kernel, services etc. Lately, These patches are released more and more often and they are getting bigger and bigger. Windows XP SP2 alone broke a lot of enterprise applications. Microsoft admitted that it broke at lease 50 programs. They released a patch that's supposed to fix that but now a systems security agency reported that currently after all this, there are at least 10 critical security flaws now. Do you see what's happening? Do you understand that Microsoft's practices are costing their customers money and time and agony. These are real life disasters that Microsoft is responsible for. Hell they even flew their techs,Yes they are responsible for their flawed, insecure Windows and for the monopoly they forced on IT.

Here is the news link:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1732672,00.asp

Intellectual property (IP)

It's really pathetic that Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer, sent out e-mails to their customers as a marketing tactic to scare them away from switching to Linux and open source software by making false claims and specifically lying about Intellectual property (IP). Microsoft is being sued again for more IP infringements by many companies including Eolas Technology, realnetworks, Burst.com, etc. etc.

Microsoft estimates it will incur additional expenses of up to $950 million for remaining antitrust claims—a strong hint that settlement talks with RealNetworks and Burst.com have started—but that figure does not include a $521 million patent infringement verdict won by Eolas for technology used in the Internet Explorer browser.

Full details about this report are available in the following link:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1721109,00.asp

IP lawsuits are mounting against PROPRIETARY Vendors and NOT on open source vendors. The latest case was Kodak suing Sun Microsystems for Java IP infringements. Next to be sued is Microsoft for its use and implementation of it's own Java. Micorsoft talks about lawsuits? They are the most sued company in the world. They are even sued by many governments around the world for their monopoly. We all should worry about Microsoft's business practices and monopolies, not to mention it's security holes that lead to thousands of viruses to attack users and corporate systems that contain our personal information and privacy. Think about it. Microsoft is the security hole. Microsoft is in the way of innovation. Microsoft is ripping all it's customers with ridiculously high costs. Research their business model and you will see that Microsoft is really bad for your business.

Microsoft Windows Security holes

Microsoft Windows is the security hole in your network and desktop.

After experiencing security vulnerabilities in Windows such as the notorious ILOVEYOU virus at work, I started researching and looking into network security seriously. Between January 2004 and June 2004 (5 months!) there were about 4000 viruses that attacked Windows. If you purchase a spyware removal program, you will find hundreds of malware on your Windows system. Some of these malware are actually very serious that they transmit your key stokes on the keyboard revealing your passwords and any banking transactions.
Microsoft is costing their customers lots of expense to patch their systems and try to protect themselves from Windows' security vulnerability. This is also reported by many Technology experts such as Gartner's report on Microsoft's Security holes.
The following is a link to their report:
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/32870.html

Linux has matured now and it is rapidly evolving to be the best developed operating system. Off course, when you have millions of developers around the world contributing to the Linux kernel and other open source projects that make up the GNU/Linux platform, what would you expect? .... a rock solid computing system. Therefore, large enterprises and professional organizations are quickly adopting Linux and leveraging on it's stability, security and low cost. When NASA, the Department of Defense, and many more professional and governmental agencies have already move ahead with deploying Linux, the signs are clear that Linux is the smart way to go. After all, Linux is now used in super computer grids, embedded in many devices such as smart cell phones, servers and desktops.

On the desktop, Linux has progressed enormously, thanks to the idea of open source. That rate of innovation far exceeds any commercial, proprietary or closed source company.

So why are there companies still using an inferior and expensive operating system like Windows? The main reasons I can think of are:
a) They are locked in a long term contract with Microsoft
b) They have a mediocre IT staff who only know Windows
c)Nobody owns Linux and therefore, Vendors who do use Linux only market their products. The consumer is usually unaware that Linux is actually powering the product or embedded. An example of this is the Java Desktop System. This is a Linux desktop operating system distributed by Sun Microsystems but as you can see from the name of the product, there is no mention of Linux!

What if a company has custom programs based on Windows? how can they change to Linux? Well, I believe there is a solution for everything. This is a valid question and I'm sure that many companies want to switch to Linux as soon as possible to leverage on a better technology. They need to at least avoid disastrous virus, worms and spyware that end up costing them money, time and losing customers; not to mention the headaches. Fortunately, the are a few solutions to this problem:
a) They can port their custom programs to Linux. I came across a company that specializes in this. Check them out at http://www.mainsoft.com
b) They can use Citrix or similar Applications/terminal servers to give them access to their custom applications from their Linux desktops.

Everyday Linux grows with more innovation, development and solutions.