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Author of Linux Patent Study Contradicts Ballmer

An anonymous reader sends us this EWeek story, following-up on the recent Linux patent scare. The author of the patent study is contacted, and says, "Open source faces no more, if not less, legal risk than proprietary software. The market needs to understand that the study Microsoft is citing actually proves the opposite of what they claim it does."

4 of 335 comments (clear)

  1. Re:more secure than IE by zyridium · · Score: 1, Troll

    I think it is patently ridiculous to assert that Firefox is more secure than IE.

    To begin with is a long and unclear argument of what 'security' means. A significant number of 'exploits' on IE are due to users stupidly agreeing to install components that they shouldn't. While there are arguments about how easy it should be for a user to do something stupid -- download, find, and execute vs. click on the wrong button -- I think it is sensible to cast these aside.

    What serious exploits are left? Undoubtedly people will feel tempted to bring up past track records, but this doesn't lead to any constructive discussion. Most of the negative attitude here about IE has less to do with the quality of IE, and more to do with a general anti-MS sentiment and some bitterness about the way they stomped on the competition...

    I do not think it is difficult to imagine that the next big browser exploit will be for FireFox rather than IE..

  2. Fear for Profit... by SubDude · · Score: 1, Troll

    Sorry OSRM, I do not buy your reversed role of being the savior of the open source movement.

    OSRM has made a number of damaging unsubstaniated claims concerning *possible* Linux IP violations - you have hurt the open source movement for personal profit.

    With friends like OSRM, Who needs enemas?

    SD

  3. Re:Not really by BasilBrush · · Score: 0, Troll

    PAST presidents? This one's the worst of the lot!

  4. Re:Hardly. by zyridium · · Score: 0, Troll

    You make some good points, but fail to look for mine.

    Simply put, the only argument that you have put forward that IE is less secure is that the default installation is not locked down properly. This has nothing to do with something so grand as a security model, but is simply an issue of default misconfiguration.

    I happily run IE with more secure settings and see no reason in your argument that IE is less secure.

    The advisories you pointed to do not suggest that I would be vulnerable.

    I deliberately tried to stay away from arguing whether one browser was more secure than the other, I was simply stating how ridiculous it is to claim that FireFox is inherently more secure.