Secure Computing: Sec-C

Hi Anders,

The "Spotlight" feature for Mac OS X has been available for a few years. It searches many things, including meta data.
http://developer.apple.com/macosx/spotlight.html
This is still Microsoft playing catch-up to Apple.

Microsoft's description of HomeGroup still sounds like rsync. However, if it is really used for easily configuring their network, then perhaps Microsoft copied Gnome's network configuration. You can setup different network profiles, easily switch between them, and have preset networked devices per network. Ubuntu has had this since at least Jaunty (early 2009) and probably in Intrepid. Mac OS X 10.3 also has this to a degree, and Mac OS X 10.5 does it very well.

Finally, how could Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) copy the Windows 7 live taskbar, when Snow Leopard was previewed and released months before Windows 7? Also, the extended taskbar in Snow Leopard is just an extension of the Dock which is found in all versions of Mac OS X. Even news outlets claim that Windows 7 copied their live taskbar from Apple.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140721/Microsoft_rebukes_exec_for_Mac_inspiration_comment
http://reviews.cnet.com/2722-19589_7-314.html
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/review/1561304/windows-versus-snow-leopard

While I am clearly biased, the main point is this: I still have not heard of Microsoft inventing anything new and novel. Windows 7 is Microsoft's way of closing the gap with Apple and Linux, but they are still playing catchup. And if 20 years of history has taught us anything, it is that Microsoft never gets it right the first time. All of these features are new to Microsoft. Expect problems.

Technically, Microsoft bought Powerpoint in 1987 from Robert Gaskins for $14 million.
And Microsoft bought Word from Bravo in 1983.
However, Microsoft did create Excel. I'll even give them credit for SMB -- it's a horrible protocol and the cause of much of today's malware proliferation, but it did simplify inter-system networking for Windows95/98.
But let's talk more recently. What features were introduced by Windows 2000, NT, XP, Me, Vista, or Windows7 that did not first exist under Linux or Mac? Seriously, I cannot name any.

In contrast, Apple created the entire GUI concept.
And the first color computer. (I think first home computer really goes to Commodore.)
And Apple introduced the first floppy disk drive.
And the whole mouse thing.
First home laser printer (laserwriter).
Built-in networking.
Firewire.
And their lists of firsts really goes on and on.
But to compare Apples to... well, Microsoft. Snow Leopard introduced a novel way to input Chinese characters (you draw them!). They incorporated geo-location configuration based on WiFi information so it automatically configures your timezone. (I'm not yet sure if this is a good thing, but it's new.) Those are two new features not yet found bundled in other operating systems.

You are absolutely correct that an unpatched Snow Leopard system is a disaster waiting to happen. But you did not need to wait months or years for a patch. Moreover, this is a one-time miss and not an established history. The same can be said for Linux -- the first few releases of the Reiser filesystem were seriously unstable. And don't get me started on all of the broken functions in the current revision of X-Windows. However, I have installed Linux RedHat, CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, as well as various BSD systems and had stable, secure configurations from the get-go. I cannot say the same about any version of Microsoft Windows.

I actually did some contract work at a Fortune-500 company where they would install new Windows systems off-line. They found that installing a Windows system on the network would end up getting it infected before they could apply the first patch. In contrast, every Ubuntu system can be installed on the wild Internet safely because the default uses no external network services.

My opinion about operating systems changes over the years. Way back when, I recommended Windows over Mac because every new Mac version was incompatible. Today, I make recommendations based on the desired use model. If you just want to edit pictures, write documents, watch videos, surf the web, use email, and do presentations, then go Mac with the Microsoft Office suite and Photoshop. (Be sure to buy a 3-button mouse -- that one-button mouse is a joke.) If you are a programmer or researcher, go Mac or Linux. Security? I still recommend a BSD server over a Linux server but the difference is much slimmer today. Today I can only recommend Windows for hard-core game players or people with unported legacy software, and even then, I usually recommend reinstalling rather than trying to remove undesirable software add-ons (especially with games).

By the way, my RedHat system has now been up so long that uptime rolled over! Over 400 days up! Are there any Windows systems today that can do 400 days continuous duty and hard-core usage (including installs, updates, and uninstalls) without being rebooted? I don't even think MacOS can do this...

Hi Michael,

You're right. I should have clarified my statements.
Few commercial computer providers develop anything novel. Instead, the development comes from researchers and gets incorporated into commercial products.

While Apple did not create the computer mouse, they did clean up the experimental technology and introduced it for mass consumer adoption. Same goes with the GUI, and color monitors, and laser printers. Apple did not create it -- they just introduced it to mass consumers and turned these concepts from experimental technologies to consumer products that were ready for showtime.

Microsoft did not incorporate the GUI or mouse until after Apple introduced the GUI-mouse combination.

And technically, GEM copied the Apple Lisa and Microsoft copied GEM. (How's that for making me feel old?)