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The PC Display has Left the Building
Makarand writes "A new class of PC displays, called Smart Displays, that will use Wi-Fi to effectively decouple
themselves from the PC will be unveiled next week at Comdex. Special software
from Microsoft ( code-named 'Mira') will be at the heart of these displays
allowing them to communicate with any PC running Windows XP within Wi-Fi range ( typically several hundred feet ). The surface of a Smart Display will be touch sensitive allowing you to interact using a finger or a stylus."
Sorry, mods, but how exactly is this "+4, insightful"? This is just "-15, dumb". It's like saying there's no way you can control a 3 GHz computer remotely over a modem because the modem can't transmit all the data that the CPU can process. Try to THINK before you mod. If you're modding something as informative or insightful, and don't have a clue about the subject, at least do a quick search on the internet to see if it's even TRUE.
Study: Linux' Security Problems Outstrip Microsoft's
Fri Nov 15, 1:33 PM ET
James Maguire, www.NewsFactor.com
Open source software has surpassed Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) software in terms of security problems, according to an Aberdeen Group report.
"Open source software, commonly used in many versions of Linux (news - web sites), Unix (news - web sites), and network routing equipment, is now the major source of elevated security vulnerabilities for IT buyers," the report stated.
The research cited a list of advisories published by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), a federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University.
The CERT report claims that security alerts for open source and Linux software accounted for 16 out of the 29 advisories published during the first 10 months of 2002. During those same 10 months, only seven security problems were documented in Microsoft products.
Trojan Horses and Viruses
Microsoft applications have made significant progress in avoiding virus and Trojan horse problems, according to CERT. The number of such advisories peaked in 2001 at six, but none were posted during the first 10 months of 2002.
Virus and Trojan horse advisories for Unix, Linux and open source software went from one in 2001 to two in the first 10 months of 2002.
To fully understand these figures, it is important to understand CERT's criteria for issuing an advisory, Aberdeen Group research director and report co-author Eric Hemmendinger told NewsFactor.
For example, although several viruses that affect Microsoft products have been reported this year, such threats need to reach a certain severity level before CERT will issue an advisory in response to them, he said.
New Poster Child
"Obviously, the label of poster child for security glitches moved from Microsoft to the shoulders of open source and Linux product suppliers during 2002," the Aberdeen research stated.
Hemmendinger said the greater number of security vulnerabilities in open source was connected to problems with quality assurance testing. "While there are multiple distributors of open source products, there is no single entity responsible for quality assurance or for addressing security issues," he said.
Popular Misconception
Hemmendinger noted that the CERT findings run counter to what he sees as a popular misconception: that Microsoft software suffers the most security problems.
He said that network administrators trying to assess Microsoft versus open source platform strategies "need to set aside everything you've heard over the last year and look at what the numbers actually show. Perception does not match reality."
Rationale for Change
One reason for the decreased number of Microsoft security problems may be "the beginnings of an impact of efforts Microsoft has made to improve coding practices," Hemmendinger said.
He noted that not only has Microsoft made security a major push this year, "but there have been a number of things that have gone on [in Microsoft] over the last couple years reflecting that they know security matters, and that they had to pay attention to it."
Future of Open Source
Hemmendinger predicted even more security advisories will be released for open source products in the future, while the number of Microsoft security vulnerabilities will remain flat or decrease.
"The numbers lag the adoption," he said, explaining that as open source becomes more prevalent, problems -- and scrutiny of weaknesses -- will increase.
Apple Bit, Also
"Apple's products are now just as vulnerable, now that it is fielding an operating system with embedded Internet protocols and Unix utilities," the Aberdeen reported added.
According to the CERT list, security advisories affecting Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL - news) OS X jumped from two in 2001 to four in the first 10 months of 2002.
Ah, the censorship loving slashdot editors has already modded it down in the mud.
I think this is the slashdot-editors idea of free speech: You are free to think what you want as long as you think like me.