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http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/15/1341224&from=rss
Now before we misinterpret it, let me make that clear. I don’t mean servers of other companies which are running Ubuntu. I meant servers of Ubuntu.
I’m sure Microsoft must have had something to do with this! But until we can somehow figure out how Microsoft was involved, let’s just assume it wasn’t them and look at alternatives:
I once had a major mail-debate with a prominent freedom-fighter regarding system administrators. His argument was “Linux requires admins with a high IQ” whereas “Windows doesn’t”. Now call me stupid, but I thought this was a good thing for windows. Afterall, I was under the impression that software was meant to simplify our lives (I keep making wrong assumptions on so many fronts lately). Then he goes to say that because Linux requires Administrators with high IQ, they are always competent – by virtue of being Linux admins, whereas a Windows admin is not of high IQ because it’s Microsoft’s fault that Windows is easy to use. Yes, Microsoft is responsible that companies who use Windows, hire admins with low IQ. (disclaimer – I do not subscribe to this opinion personally).
Anyways, a whole community’s eyes (thousands of eyes, to quote said mighty freedom-fighter) did not notice a (probably must be low-iq) procedure that I, as a college student was smart enough to know – use everything over SSL. I quote: “as using unencrypted FTP transfers with accounts”. I’m pretty sure there was something called ssl and secure ftp and ssh in college. We’re talking about servers running GPL’d programs, which, according to some, by virtue of applying the GPL, got thousands of eyes going over them, combined with the fact that they’re being run by the community (add a thousand or so more eyes to the mix), and add to that the fact that we’re dealing with the most popular Linux distro in the world – one that’s going to be the flagship into the entry of Linux on preinstalled desktops by Dell (add a few hundred yet more eyes). Hmm…. maybe I missed something…..
The community has it’s share blames to throw on Canonical too. The kernel has backward compatibility issues with Canonical-provided hardware, which I presume was bought with all kinds of freedom-fighter-retaliation-threats to whoever sold it to them, which means that there’s no hardware lockin (besides the servers were working till now – I mean something was throwing that webpage at me!). Now I found out from slashdot that Vista’s just stupid that it’s not backward compatible with lots of hardware. However, the Linux kernel gets patches “overnight” at the click of your fingers (especially on hardware that was bought with that purpose in mind, and which worked with the previous version). However, it’s Canonical’s fault that they sponsored this hardware. Maybe I missed something again……
Wait, there’s more….. there were missing security patches. Damn that Windows Update! Applies patches authomatically huh? Must be for those low-IQ admins. With high-iq people who can apply patches “overnight”, why bother?
Wait there’s even more…. I’ve faced “case studies” and “statistics” of how Linux machines never ever fail, and any windows failure is always Microsoft’s personal fault, and the configurations had nothing to do with it. And let’s not forget the whole hardware compatibility Vista gave up – just how mean and evil of it! I guess the freedom-fighter-threatened vendor who sold that hardware (or Canonical to have bought it) must be so damned evil, that even after all those threats, he sold hardware that chose to be backward compatible with an upgrade in the kernel. Shouldn’t the stupid, arrogant, low-IQ vendor have anticipated future kernel-changes and made hardware that could live with them? Since the code is by-definition always right (thanks to those thousands + thousands + hundreds of eyes), the evil hardware decided not to allow the kernel to upgrade. Maybe it was that damned DRM again…
Afterall, it’s always everyone else’s fault right?
