Windows vs Mac Security

sdhorne writes "There is a good technical discussion over at InfoWorld on the merits of launchd and what is lacking in a comparable Windows secure solution. It is a throw back to the UNIX vs Windows security discussion that has been hashed out for many years." From the article: "it always traces back to Microsoft's untenable policy of maintaining gaps in Windows security to avoid competing with 3rd party vendors and certified partners. Apple's taking a different approach: What users need is in the box: Anti-virus, anti-spam, encryption, image backup and restore, offsite safe storage through .Mac, and launchd. Pretty soon any debate with Microsoft over security can be ended in one round when Apple stands up, says 'launchd', and sits back down."

Comments

Linux drivers? How about open specs/complete docs

[TheWoozle]

I see a whole bunch of people whining about lack of Linux drivers. Is ATI worried about losing money from such a small merket segment? Obviously not. Face facts: graphics card manufacturers are never going to give you the level of support for Linux you want until Linux has a *much* bigger share of the market. They are busy enough churning out new hardware every six months; hell, they can't even write good drivers for Windows at the current pace, let alone Linux.

You're bright, talented, resourceful guys/gals right? Instead of whining on Slashdot about closed-source drivers for a proprietary GPU architecture, why don't you design, manufacture, and sell "open" GPUs, CPUs, and systems? With complete documentation? So that I can write drivers that will let me take advantage of *all* the features the hardware has to offer? Bonus points if I don't have to sign abusive NDA's or fork over huge sums of money on licenses/royalties for access to the docs.

Open-source software is neat and all, but if I don't have complete documentation of every bit of circuitry/firmware/embedded software, etc. in the system, then running an open-source OS just means I won't be able to use all the features of the hardware that I paid for.

The software can only be as free (as in speech) as the hardware it runs on.