[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] bugs in Vista betas

[Rich Shepard]

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> I wouldn't fault Microsoft for this, unless they react badly.  Finding
> flaws is what beta test is for ("beta than nothing" as they say). My real
> worry is that the bad publicity will cause them to shoot the messenger,
> scale back their beta testing process, and postpone the outside
> bug-finding process until after major release.  All new software contains
> flaws that are only findable by outsiders.  Eric Raymond says, "with
> enough eyes, all bugs are shallow." Every bug found now is one less that
> could torment tens of millions of users in the future.  We should
> celebrate these flaws.

Keith, et al.:

   What I read on the news web sites today (and in this morning's Oregonian)
is that _vulnerabilities_ have been identified in the released version sold
to businesses. These vulnerabilities have apparently not yet been exploited.

   Germane to beta versions of Winduhs, I've had people tell me that this has
always been what Microsoft shipped, and they get people to pay them to do
the testing and identify bugs and openings.

   If you're interested, there's a summary on The Register's web site of an
article that apparently makes the case that the DRM hard coded in the most
secret core of Vista is not only a bad idea, but the most egregious example
of corporate slow suicide the author can find. Interesting thesis.

Rich

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