Go FUD Yourself

[mbarrick]

Perhaps it is because of having lost too much of my life fixing things FUBAR'd by Microsoft "fixes", but I have come to fundamentally doubt the motivation behind many Microsoft patches. As anyone who has worked in IT for any length of time knows, there are frequently other "fixes" and "features" snuck in that are not mentioned in the security bulletins. For example, it annoys the crap out of me to have file associations and default applications revert to Microsoft products after a patch, or worse, have competing non-Microsoft products outright fail after a patch.

Microsoft ceased to be a technology-driven company decades ago. Microsoft is marketing first, actual working software second (if it all). The press from the usual Microsoft-shill trade-magazines about the latest round of patches really has me wondering if the marketing weasels have completely infected the process. Acticles like this one that focus on an update that "affects a core Windows subsystem, and all versions except for Windows Vista" and Microsoft's own ominous wording that

An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by constructing a specially crafted image that could potentially allow remote code execution if a user opened a specially crafted attachment in e-mail. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system.

This is a critical security update for all supported editions of Windows except Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista.

makes me wonder if what the patch is really intended to "fix" is unsatisfactory Vista sales.

Could this be classic Microsoft FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) interestingly self-directed to scare people into upgrading to Vista switching to Ubuntu?

Comments

bizzare....

[(Anonymous)]

I was actually thinking of switchingto Ubuntu!! I am tired of the microsoft crap that they pull and I too have been having issues with 'upgrades' that they insist I must have. Everytime I take thier word and upgrade, lots of stuff works poorly, incorectly, or not at all on my computer. Thing is, I really can't find enough feedback concerning Ubuntu and I kinda wanna know that its gonna do what I NEED it to do. My biggest concern is with my music making and the programmes I used to do such. Hrmmmmmmmmmm.....Jezz

Re: bizzare....

[mbarrick.livejournal.com]

Have a look at these links:

General article on Linux sound editing:
http://arstechnica.com/guides/tweaks/linux-audio.ars

General article on sequencer programs:
http://www.linux.com/feature/118302

Software:
http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/tour/
http://www.ardour.org/
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

[http://users.livejournal.com/_disdain_/]

Ubuntu kicks ass (70% of our workstation at work are CentOS, but Ubunto would be really sweet). I'm just thrilled to be able to run (kracked) MacOS X on my PC hardware at home... at least there's some UNIX-y goodness under the hood. I haven't booted into Windows in months!

Re: bizzare....

[http://users.livejournal.com/_disdain_/]

I've never tried Linux audio software, but have always been curious to see what it's like. Some day I must devote some time to that.

I just switched (back) to MacOS X, which generally kicks ass when it comes to audio software.