> Of course, in the old days, an email propagated "virus" would not be
> worthy of comment, as it would be felt that anyone stupid enough to
> open an executable from an unknown source shouldn't be operating a
> computer, and deserved whatever resulted - sort of technological
> darwinism.
> -Pete Vincent
The problem is that in most cases it is not an "executable" (program) file
but a "document" that contains hidden executable macros. Not all modern
users are aware of this technically unnecessary and insidious trapdoor. It
should be noted that Macro$oft err Micro$oft (the false advertising starts
in the name) has given unnecessarily high powers to these macros, enabling
them to perform system operations such as formatting a hard drive. Who the
heck needs this "functionality" in a Word letter or an Excel spreadsheet ?!
Of course this is the dream of all insidious crackers (like at M$ itself)
to make an ass out of unsuspecting users and/or snoop around on their
harddisks.
The "technological darwinism" is that people are stupid enough to buy M$
software in the first place, but in the large corporations these decisions
are made by managers who don't really have an idea of the implications
and who don't have to work with it on a day-to-day basis -- the poor
employees have to "pay the price" for their decisions. For the private
customers, the IBM- and later Wintel-Cartel has looked to it that 90%+
people don't have a choice in the first place (they must stay "compatible"
with all the other M$ victims, after all). Who wins when all lose ?
Gates and the people who sell manuals, books, courses, new hardware every
1-2 years, new software every 6 months, etc.
In the perspective of losing the current antitrust case and appeal, M$
is now seeking some type of statutory exemption from antitrust laws for
"high tech", . Senators Lott, Bennett and Mack are said to be among M$'s
advocates on this. Some say that Lott is supposed to be lining up party
support for this antitrust exemption idea. M$ is finally getting something
back for the rumored $100M+ it was reported to be dumping into the
Republican party.
Chris
____________________________________________________________________________
"In a manner that would have left the robber barons of the late 19th century
gaping in absolute awe, Microsoft is approaching something unprecedented: a
monopoly that could well own the choke points of tomorrow's commerce and
communications." -- DAN GILLMOR, San Jose Mercury News Computing Editor
