Microsoft execs have tattooed brains

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The Reg reports on today's launch of Windows Server 2003:

"It's tattooed on our brains," [Ballmer] said. "We have gotten the message from our customers loud and clear that security is a top issue."

Statements such as that should cause a few alarms to go off in any CIO's head. Microsoft, like any IT vendor, knows that customers place security high up on their list of concerns. Still, the company has taken ages to start shipping something resembling secure code.

In a similar vein, users have looked for Microsoft to make a real move in the data center for some time. The company takes repeated shots at Unix operating systems but has little to show for the claims.

I once heard a CTO say something like "Unix is an outdated OS, it is 20-year old! Windows, that is a serious OS". He is allegedly a big Microsoft shareholder, so much for the objectivity, let alone the seriousness of his knowledge about Unix. Considering how rock-solid the Unix systems I work with are, I think I am going to have a look at, say, Windows Server 2023.

All in all, Microsoft is improving its OS to the point where it has started to resemble something the Unix crowd had two or three years ago. This should be more than enough effort to keep Windows users happy and maybe tempt a few Linux/Unix users to convert.

Seriously? OK, I might consider Windows Server 2005 Service Pack 5 then. Meanwhile, because I need both reliability and cost effectiveness in the datacenter, the last two Windows-driven servers in my vicinity are going to RIP in about two months.