[CLUE-Talk] Microsoft incompetence of negligence?

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 08-25 19:38, Dennis J Perkins wrote:
> 
> > On 08-24 18:29, Dennis J Perkins wrote:
<snip>
> > LOL - he mentions those "Protect Your PC" ads. I tore one out of my WSJ last
> > week and hung it up in my cube. A co-worker wrote in a step 0: "Deinstall
> > Windows".
> 
> In a perfect world.. :)  But if the viruses and worms keep hitting MS shops 
> hard, they will eventually look for another solution.  And at the courts.  
> These attacks are going to affect the pocketbook, and that will get their 
> attention.

I can only hope so. I think a lot of folks keep worrying about cyberwarfare
or -terrorism or general "hacking", but do little beyond that. Just worry,
instead of at least striving for some heterogeniety (sp?) in their server
room. "But our people don't know anything but Windows, and we can't afford
more people/training!" 
 
> > As for CIOs getting summarily fired for using/recommending Windoze - I wish.
> > Last place I worked at we were finally moving towards Linux for at least the
> > *servers*. Then, whoosh, we got the new boy wonder CTO and bam, it was all
> > "rah, rah, Microsoft"...and any independent thinkers got laid off. Whee.
> > 
> > This genius even wanted to move the codebase (eventually, he so graciously
> > said. Using what rationale other than looking at MS' latest brochure for
> > PHBs, I dunno.) to .NET!!! Talk about pure visionary genius[0]. 
> 
> For an industry that supposedly demands intelligence, there are a lot of 
> incompetent fools in charge.  I guess that means that while someone's doing the 
> work, someone else is playing politics and taking credit, as usual.  (I'm 
> feeling sarcastic right before going on vacation. :) )
> 
> Sounds like laziness to me.  "Let's just use MS and I won't need to make any 
> decisions."

Very close. It was more like "I see they are making baby steps AWAY from MS,
let's do a 180, and that will be my big decision"....that and a LOT of
micromanagement. 
 
> > [0] I know the dotgnu project is trying to make sure .NET doesn't succeed in
> > MS' lock-in goal, but this guy would have made sure to make developers use
> > ..NET-only features somehow...at one point I was so puzzled by his fervor for
> > MS that I actually asked him if he used to work for them. He answered that
> > "they make the best-of-breed tools". Cue some goofy cartoon sound effects
> > here...
> 
> I haven't read any books on .NET, but knowing MS's penchant for greater 
> interoperability between their programs and their equally well-known penchant 
> for attention to security, I wonder if things could be even worse on .NET.
> 
> What's he comparing MS's tools to?  Tools from ten years
> ago?

I think your worst nightmare of noninteroperability, insecurity and virus
propagation could come true with .NET. :) Thankfully, MS has been having
some trouble getting .NET off the launch pad as far as customers just eating
it up willy-nilly. I think the problem is that people don't understand what
.NET is. Maybe since MS is supposedly banking on .NET, they will stumble,
and hard.

As for what he's comparing MS to...who knows...this is the same guy who
thought that Windows CE had the embedded market all wrapped up because they
had no competitors?! When I mentioned QNX, he just gave a blank stare, and
of course just waved off Linux's influence in the embedded world.

I honestly think he never used many non-MS tools. I wish he was the only one
in this field like that, but I cannot say he's the first I ran into. Just
the first one who "managed" AND was a MS zealot (and clearly anti-OSS to
boot).

I think maybe there will some comeuppance for some of these folks, anyway. I
heard through the grapevine that this guy was the laughingstock at the last
place he "managed", and was thrown out on his tail from that place. 

-- 
Sean LeBlanc:seanleblanc at americanisp.net  
http://users.americanisp.net/~seanleblanc/
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