Forum Moderators: bakedjake
UK government departments moved a step closer to using open-source operating systems such as Linux after a study found that they were "viable" products. [..]The pilot schemes found that using Linux can extend the life of equipment and limit the number of servers need to run programs.
[news.bbc.co.uk...]
The pre-release version of the report read: "Linux would appear to offer numerous strengths in terms of security." In the final version this became: "There is no definitive answer on the relative security merits of open or closed-source software."The pre-release version also described the visibility of Linux code as a boon to its security, saying: "The structure of the Linux operating system is regarded as inherently more secure than that of Microsoft Windows... The open-source code can be viewed in its entirety and in the event of a problem the worldwide Linux community can act to resolve any issue with urgency."
The final version, however, is more muted. "While some argue that many eyes lead to fewer security flaws, others argue that those wishing to exploit, or tamper with, open-source code have an easier time than with closed source code," it reads.
others argue
Sounds like somebody's been reading Get The Facts [microsoft.com]! :)
Go, Britain!
When you have a bunch of programmers isolated in a building on their employer's "campus", the end result (and speedy modifications to that result) is likely to be less-informed and less-robust than a similar product built by thousands of programmers worldwide.
Any programmer who wishes to exploit the open source product is bound to find that the hacking options are far more limited than in the proprietary product, because there have simply been more people observing the progress of development of the open source product, and there are more people working to patch the holes. Simple. Imagine the sheer number of geek-driven attack scenarios being run every day by the worldwide cult of open source developers on their (literally) beloved Linux OS compared to the necessarily-relatively smaller group working on the proprietary system. 10,000 beats 1,500 every time.
Does anyone feel the proprietary OS you are using is "beloved" (except you Mac-ophiles, of course)? Linux developers and most of its users do.
Where MS has the edge over Linux is that they bundle country investments with government using their products "If you use MS for tax systems, we will invest $300 million in an R&D center"....unfortunately, the Linux boys can't do this.
So don't be surprised, if despite it's advantages, UK, India and other countries give Linux the miss in fav. of MS
