from geeknews.net

Shut the FUD up
By David Grant(xix) - June 19th,1999

Look it's a bug in a Microsoft product. No shit sherlock. Fact is every
program has bugs. Recently Firas Bushnaq of eEye(a security company)
discovered a bug in IIS. A buffer-overflow bug that could be used to run
malicious code on the web server itself. Firas didn't stop there after he
discovered it. He went out and distributed a program to exploit the hole. Is
this fair practice? When you find a bug to go public with it on a national
scale and release programs to take advantage of the bug?

Why would eEye do such a thing? Obviously to gain fame. How is it that by
releasing this information the company gained fame? Because it was a bug in
a Microsoft product.

Microsoft bashing is what it is. It's ok to bash Microsoft because they have
a monopoly right? Why not? Everyone is doing it. It's IN to bash Microsoft.
It's COOL to bash Microsoft. The government. The Linux advocates. Sun, AOL,
Apple hell even Microsoft employees have been known to bash Microsoft
publicly.

To many the term FUD originates from Microsoft's favorite tactics. Fear,
Uncertainty and Doubt. They pressure OEMs to include Windows as the default
operating system or they will not receive substantial cuts in cost and
support on the latest beta's. They use shady business tactics and sheer
legal power to win battles. FUD is Microsoft. Or was I should say.

Now FUD is what is used AGAINST Microsoft. AOL is buying everything 'cool'
coming from the internet. Fear. The government accuses Microsoft of
monopolizing the computer market. Uncertainty. Linux advocates want you to
think the Linux operating system is better for you than Windows. Doubt.

American's have always been rebels. To be a rebel you need something to
rebel against. Every competitor(or future competitor) to Microsoft see's
this grass roots feeling as a weapon. The virtual David that wants to kill
the Goliath with a little stone. This time tho it's many David's and a hell
of a lot of stones aiming at Goliath.

All these little David's have their own agendas. They all want your eyeballs
or your heart. At least with Goliath we know what we are getting. What are
we gaining by bashing Microsoft? Some think if they bash Microsoft enough
that the companys hold on the operating system market share will be
affected. Truth is if that happen we can look forward to a ton of
incompatibility. Oh sure brand x operating system may work with 60% of the
hardware out there but as a consumer personally I should not have to worry
about such things. I should be able to go to my local store buy a computer
that offers complete compatibility.

Lets take a quick look at some of those David's. Linux advocates claim they
are all about choices. Give users a choice. 'Let us play fair on a level
field' Sun claims if you would just let them they can make all your hardware
compatible with Java. 'Really we can' AOL thinks they can offer you
everything you need to be connected to the internet. 'Here let us show you'
All three come at a price. The FUD tactics of these three groups are equally
as devious as Microsoft's own tactics.

So now you have choices. Isn't it a shame that the big companies and the big
movements install these fear within us? The choices are great and in the
long run MAYBE this all will enhance our computing lives, but in the short
term it just makes you feel real crappy about the whole 'computer thing'.

The internet has put computers in the spotlight. People come here for the
first time on a daily basis. What do they see? Fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Shut the FUD up.


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