News Google drops Windows from staff machines

Google has ordered its employees to run Mac OS or Linux, citing security concerns with Windows.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2010/06/02/google-drops-windows/1

 

They have moved a long way from simply being a search engine into a rival to MS, so this is just a PR move by them, and I'm sure that's what MS will say when someone asks them about it.

 

I can't say I'm surprised by this, they are competitors after all.

 

true, just a publicity stunt tbh as well.

 

Quote "While Mac OS appears to be the operating system of choice"
Quote "Linux is open source and we feel good about it[, but] Microsoft we don't feel so good about."

So, MAC is open source to??????
Don't you feel bad???
It's just an excuse, i can hack more ease a MAC or a Linux than a WIN7 OS. Trying to hack a Windows based os it's like break into a house in a bad city, bars at the windows, doors with good locks. Hacking a MAC its like break into a farm were every doors and windows is open while the family is miles way doing the daily shop in their pickup truck.

 

Obviously MS has pissed them off somehow.

 

i think google is pushing it too much. they know that every other OS is riddled with security flaws, and surprisingly. MS atm has the least number vulnerabilities. if they are doing this as a PR stunt for maybe an OS they are developing, well they will have to do good in a field MS is now practically an expert in ( tackling with vulnerabilities ), it would be funny when google moves to a new OS and find out within days that they have a security breach as well. im beginning to think their system wasnt managed that properly. or they are still using windows 95-xp til now.lol

 

Indeed, I was under the impression that Macs hadn't fared too well in recent competitions such as Pwn2Own.

 

Id love to see how 'secure' OSX would be if they had the same market share as Windows.

 

Of course there is no possibility whatsoever that Google may have some valid and informed concerns. I mean, it is not as if they know computers and software any better than we do. It is not as if they employ Top Gun programmers, design applications for a range of OS's, have any experience at developing their own OS's, and make millions at that game.

Oh, wait, hang on, actually they do.

Cry "conspiracy!" all you want, but I know for sure that if I ran the NHS I would ditch all those Windows machines right now and use Macs only. Why? Because they are easy to use by a predominantly computer-unsavvy workforce. Because they are less easy to mess up by people who don't know what they are doing and hence are easier to maintain. Because you don't have to worry about all sorts of ideosyncratic legacy configurations of Elonexes, Compacs and Dells with different specs running different versions of Windows. Because the computers initially may be more expensive, but the subsequent OS upgrades are very cheap. Because they are compact all-in-one boxes, quiet and more easy to clean --a consideration that matters in a hospital.

Then I'd ditch the Office suite and go for something like OpenOffice (or at least iWork: £60,-- vs. £300,-- for MS Office). It's a no-brainer.

 

Remember vulnerabilities we are aware of is not the same as total number of vulnerability, the linux crowd publish every vulnerability as they find them so that some one can patch them asap exploited or not. MS publishes a patch every Tuesday (?) usually fixing a vulnerability which has been exploited already what they wont tell you is how many time bombs are just sitting on our desktops waiting to be abused.

 

I know I shouldn't, but I REALLY hope that they get hacked again. It's not like MS is insecure. The China hack was due to an Internet Explorer 6 exploit if I remember right. Surely switching to OSX and Linux will just expose their vulnerabilities, so this could end up being tremendous for MS, so long as:

1. They do get hacked
2. They publically admit that they have been.

On the flip side though, if all their employees stop using the rivals products and start using their own, they can canvass opinion internally BETTER as to how they should focus development work. That's going to be invaluable IMHO....

 

A progressive step by Google albeit motivated in-part, I suspect, by politics. Nonetheless, it's still progressive.

 

... in other news, Google won the daily prize of Public Enemy Number 1 on the Bit-Tech forums.

Any bets for tomorrow?

 

Exactly. Nothing is 100% secure, and if hackers turned their attention to the closed-sourced OSx I'm sure they'd find some interesting 'issues'

I see this as a publicity stunt and nothing much else.

Plus I've never actually had a virus or been hacked (etc) from a Windows vulnerability. For me it's always been getting viruses due to programs *I* have chosen to install/use.

*Shrugs*

 

They already did say that.

 

l33t haxor cant even get past win7, oh dear

(posted from my mac pro behind a £2000 hardware firewall)

 

Given that NHS employees can bag MS Office for about £20 I'd imagine the company itself is paying a similar price for its licenses, no? Still, if you're going to switch 1.3million people over to Macs I guess you'll need to start cutting costs somewhere else

 

Where is crazyceo?

 

Trololololol.