I never believe news that people put in e-mails. So I had to find it myself.....and here it is... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60050-2002May22.html
I found this beauty also.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-02/13/090r-021300-idx.html and this http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A4 988-2002Apr6 JM > -----Original Message----- > From: Takaoglu, Uzay [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 10:03 AM > To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' > Subject: keep up the great work! > > > Hi All, > > Below is an article I got from Washington Post. Interesting > enough microsoft > is lobbying all the government agencies to quit using open source > S/W. Guess > what the government agencies said. > > Simply the translation is "f.. off" :). > > Keep up the great work people! > > Thank you all, > > Article is below: > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > ---------- > - > Microsoft Corp. is aggressively lobbying the Pentagon to squelch > its growing > use of freely distributed computer software and switch to proprietary > systems such as those sold by the software giant, according to officials > familiar with the campaign. > > In what one military source called a "barrage" of contacts with officials > at the Defense Information Systems Agency and the office of Defense > Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over the past few months, the company said > "open source" software threatens security and its intellectual property. > > But the effort may have backfired. A May 10 report prepared for > the Defense > Department concluded that open source often results in more secure, less > expensive applications and that, if anything, its use should be expanded. > > "Banning open source would have immediate, broad, and strongly negative > impacts on the ability of many sensitive and security-focused DOD > groups to > protect themselves against cyberattacks," said the report, by Mitre Corp. > > A Microsoft Corp. spokesman acknowledged discussions between the company > and the Pentagon but denied urging a ban on open-source software. He also > said Microsoft did not focus on potential security flaws. > > Spokesman Jon Murchinson said Microsoft has been talking about > how to allow > open-source and proprietary software to coexist. "Our goal is to resolve > difficult issues that are driving a wedge between the commercial and free > software models," he said. > > John Stenbit, an assistant secretary of defense and the Defense > Department's chief information officer, said Microsoft has said using free > software with commercial software might violate the intellectual-property > rights of companies such as Microsoft. Stenbit said the issue is legally > "murky." > > The company also complained that the Pentagon is funding > research on making > free software more secure, which in effect subsidizes Microsoft's > open-source competitors, Stenbit said. > > Microsoft's push is a new front in a long-running company assault on the > open-source movement, which company officials have called "a cancer" and > un-American. > > Software is designated open source when its underlying computer code is > available for anyone to license, enhance or customize, often at > no cost. The > theory is that by putting source code in the public domain, programmers > worldwide can improve software by sharing one another's work. > > Vendors of the proprietary systems, such as Microsoft and Oracle Corp., > keep their source codes secret, control changes to programs and > collect all > licensing fees for their use. > > Government agencies use a patchwork of systems and software, and > proprietary software is still the most widely used. But open source has > become more popular with businesses and government. > > The Mitre Corp. report said open-source software "plays a more critical > role in the DOD than has been generally recognized." > > The report identified 249 uses of open-source systems and tools, > including > running a Web portal for the Defense Intelligence Agency, running network > security for the Army command in Europe and support for numerous Air Force > Computer Network Defense tools. > > Among the most high-profile efforts is research funded by the National > Security Agency to develop a more secure version of the open-source Linux > operating system, which competes with Microsoft's Windows. > > The report said banning open-source software would drive up costs, though > it offered no specifics. Some government agencies have saved significantly > by using open source. > > At the Census Bureau, programmers used open-source software to launch a > Web site for obtaining federal statistics for $47,000, bureau officials > said. It would have cost $358,000 if proprietary software were used, they > said. > > Microsoft has argued that some free-licensing regimes are antithetical to > the government's stated policy that moneymaking applications > should develop > from government-funded research, and that intellectual property should be > protected. > > Microsoft also said open-source software is inherently less > secure because > the code is available for the world to examine for flaws, making > it possible > for hackers or criminals to exploit them. Proprietary software, > the company > argued, is more secure because of its closed nature. > > "I've never seen a systematic study that showed open source to be more > secure," said Dorothy Denning, a professor of computer science at > Georgetown > University who specializes in information warfare. > > Others argue that the flexibility provided by open-source software is > essential, enabling users to respond quickly to flaws that are found. > > "With open source, there is no need to wait for a large software firm to > decide if a set of changes is in its best interests," said Eugene > Spafford, > a computer-science professor at Purdue University who specializes in > security. > > Jonathan Shapiro, who teaches computer science at Johns Hopkins > University, > said: "There is data that when the customer can inspect the code > the vendor > is more responsive. . . . Microsoft is in a very weak position to > make this > argument. Whose software is the largest, most consistent source > of security > flaws? It's Microsoft." > > Stenbit said the debate is academic and that what matters is how secure a > given piece of software is. To that end, the Defense Department is now > prohibited from purchasing any software that has not undergone security > testing by the NSA. Stenbit said he is unaware of any open-source software > that has been tested. > > > > -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
