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IT Practice Within Microsoft

Posted by michael on from the yummy-dog-food dept.

SilentChris writes "Good article over at CNet regarding Microsoft's internal IT practices. Some intriguing statements from the CIO, from the obvious ('It's an easy choice for me--to run Microsoft technology. We don't run Unix. We don't run Linux. We don't run Oracle.') to the not-so-obvious ('Our users are the admins of their machines. They can load whatever software they want on their machines, but we do audit the network continuously.') I wonder how much time is spent combatting spyware?"

10 of 508 comments (clear)

  1. Longhorn? by kmmatthews · · Score: 5, Funny
    I wonder how much time is spent combatting spyware?

    Aha! So that's why longhorn is taking so many years to write..

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    feh. stuff.
  2. Misquoted by HungWeiLo · · Score: 5, Funny

    "We don't run Linux....we run GNU/Linux"

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    There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
  3. Comedy... by NecroPuppy · · Score: 5, Funny

    users are the admins of their machines.

    So even Microsoft has realized you can't do crap under a limited login in XP.

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    I like you, Stuart. You're not like everyone else, here, at Slashdot.
  4. No, that one is obvious too by PhysicsGenius · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Our users are the admins of their machines. They can load whatever software they want...

    That's the only way to run a network of computer-savvy users. Imagine a metalworking shop that wouldn't let the machinists adjust their own wrenches. You'd have to put a call-ticket in to "Tool Technology Support" and after a few hours (if you are lucky) or days (if you aren't) some kid comes over who doesn't know anything and tries to adjust your hammer.

  5. Re:No wonder they're laggin behind... by ERJ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Eh, this is talking about their IT infrastructure. It would look pretty bad if it was based on unix servers and oracle databases.

    I'll bet you anything that they have unix servers and oracles databases for comparison purposes though.

  6. Software Audits? by EdwinBoyd · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Well Johnson, we found the latest build of Firefox on your machine and a copy of OpenOffice. Clear out your desk by noon"

  7. Re:No wonder they're laggin behind... by fitten · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe because this is the company's internal IT practices, basically what they do to run their shop. He isn't talking about the product strategy groups who go off and do exactly what you are saying.

  8. Software company, not bozos by dazedNconfuzed · · Score: 5, Insightful
    ('Our users are the admins of their machines. They can load whatever software they want on their machines, but we do audit the network continuously.') I wonder how much time is spent combatting spyware?"


    Pardon me for standing up for them, but ... it's MICROSOFT. They have a lot of smart talented software engineers who are just as capable of administrating their own computers as those writing for /. - and whatever is missed, like some spyware, gets picked up by the continuous network audit.


    Peeves me off when the people writing the software are not trusted to administrate their own computer which they are writing software for (or some equivalent thereto). What's with this growing American sentiment that nobody should be trusted with tools, that only someone special should be (without noting the perversity that if nobody can be trusted, then nobody can be trusted)?

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    Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
  9. Totally Incoherent Answers by warriorpostman · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Obligatory rant here...how do they know it's the best product if they never run anything non-microsoft.
    As a policy, I don't run anything that competes with Microsoft. My goal is to make sure Microsoft products are the best products in the world. It's an easy choice for me, in that sense--to run Microsoft technology. We don't run Unix. We don't run Linux. We don't run Oracle. We're 100 percent Windows, SQL Server.
    What does the following mean? Other than an incoherent repetition of the above.
    We do, in areas on the client, have an open-source client running--just for competitive analysis. As an IT organization, I have no skills and no ability and no purchasing of those products. We don't even run J2EE. Everything is .Net.
    This guy really earned his title as Chief Information Officer. When I read this interview I got flashbacks of video clips of Iraq's Minister of Information making all those bizarre claims about the invasion.
  10. The problem is that many savvy users aren't by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I work for an Electrical and Computer Engineering department. Now one would think that the Computer Engineers at least would be competent. Well, not so much actually. Most of them are... how to put this... MORONS when it comes to computers.

    We have a Internet Technologies Lab. This is the lab where they study networking and so on. These are the engineers taht study this, they have degrees in this. However they have the most piss poor understanding of network fundimentals and security I've ever seen. They get boxes hacked all the time, they continually have problems with simple things like getting their subnet set correctly, and if their switch goes down plugging it in is too complecated a concept.

    Just because somone works ina computer related field, doesn't mean they are good at the support end of computers. I'd like to think that programmers and engineers ought to know enough to avoid spyware and such, but I know from experience that's not the case. Just because they can write good code doesn't mean they are good system administrators.