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Bill Gates Brags About Vista, Reacts to Apple's Latest Ads

Posted by Zonk on Fri Feb 02, 2007 03:14 PM
from the oh-bill dept.
Microsoft Businesses Operating Systems Software Windows Apple
fr8_liner writes "In an unusually candid interview with Newsweek Bill Gates lays it all on the line, bragging about the benefits of Vista, ragging on Apple for their 'I'm a Mac' ads, and claiming primacy in a number of features shared by Vista and OSX. Specifically, it is Mr. Gates' opinion that the Apple adverts are misleading if not untruthful. He makes the claim that 'security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine.' The interview also touches on the future of Microsoft and Operating systems, and some of the company's plans for internet-based computing."
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  • ring ring (Score:5, Funny)

    by HomelessInLaJolla (1026842) * <lajollahomeless@hotmail.com> on Friday February 02 2007, @03:16PM (#17864080) Journal
    > And then I might edit a high-definition movie

    Bill, is that the MPAA on the phone?

  • Truth or Dare? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 02 2007, @03:17PM (#17864114)
    'I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine.'

    oh don't worry Mr Gates, we will.

  • 4 TEH WIN! (Score:5, Funny)

    by operagost (62405) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:18PM (#17864124) Homepage Journal

    Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine.
    Looks like he lost his temper (and his sense) again. His personality's a lot like Ballmer's, he just can't fling chairs as far.

    • Re:4 TEH WIN! (Score:5, Funny)

      by Chyeld (713439) <chyeldNO@SPAMnewsguy.com> on Friday February 02 2007, @03:35PM (#17864466)

      Looks like he lost his temper (and his sense) again. His personality's a lot like Ballmer's, he just can't fling chairs as far.

      What many people do not realize is that Ballmer is actually a costume for Gates, who wears it when he feels he is exceptionally out of control. Any time you see the two of them together, Ballmer or Gates is actually a puppet designed by the Henson Co.

      Jim Henson actually was assassinated when he threatened to reveal these secrets. True story.

    • Re:4 TEH WIN! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by bonch (38532) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:18PM (#17865192)
      Bill's claim about the File-Edit-View-Window-Help menu is even weirder. Bill Atkinson did that at Apple. What is Bill Gates smoking? Apple even invented the phrase "cut and paste." And before the "Apple stole from Xerox" comments start, they actually hired a bunch of the Xerox folks who then went to work on the Mac.

      I haven't seen Gates make comments like this in a long time. I'm glad the public finally gets to see what an asshole he is. Seriously, he's known for cussing and swearing in meetings, and he even once said he'd rather "piss on" OpenStep back in the 90s. In the early 90s, he told his wife he had more power than the President (she kicked him in the leg for it). A very arrogant guy.

      Jobs is arrogant and defensive too, but at least you can understand why given what happened between Apple and Microsoft in the 80s.

  • WTF (Score:5, Funny)

    by n1hilist (997601) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:20PM (#17864172)
    "He makes the claim that 'security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine.'"

    It's almost like virgins talking about sex, I'd question if he actually *uses* his own O/S.

  • Exploits on Vista? (Score:5, Informative)

    by soapbox (695743) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:20PM (#17864176)

    I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine.'

    Yeah, there's one this month [eweek.com].

    also here. [indiatimes.com]

  • Bracket attack (Score:5, Funny)

    by honkycat (249849) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:23PM (#17864228) Homepage Journal
    [Bill] Gates [responded to] questions in an [unusually] candid [interview]. For [some reason] most [of] his [words] were [interjected] by the editor. This [seemed] somewhat [odd and] excessive [to me]. Did [anyone else] notice [this]? [I] mean, a[n occasional] edit for [clarity] is pretty [normal], but it [seemed] like [every other] word was [inserted later].

    • Re:Bracket attack (Score:5, Funny)

      by Divebus (860563) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:49PM (#17864654)

      Steven Levy needed to fill in the dead spaces in Bill's output - like this:

      Yes, although security is a [The process could not access the file because it is being used by another process]. You're [Overflow at 0x0b26f033: WKSSVC.DLL has stopped responding.] the fact that there have been some security updates already for Windows Vista. This is exactly the way it should work. When somebody comes to us [A Runtime Error has occured. Would you like to debug? Line: 29 Error: Object Expected] we've got [The Program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down] before there is any exploit.

  • Gruber (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 02 2007, @03:23PM (#17864234)
    Great write up at Daring Fireball already: http://daringfireball.net/2007/02/lies_damned_lies _and_bill_gates [daringfireball.net]

  • Mac Exploits? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Paulrothrock (685079) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:25PM (#17864292) Homepage Journal

    I'm the "computer guy" in my family and I've convinced everyone to buy a Mac. So I'm constantly looking around for possible exploits to warn my parents, my wife, and my mother-in-law about. I paid particular attention to the month of Apple bugs.

    So I'd know if people were finding "daily" security flaws with Macs. This isn't to say that there aren't any, but three hundred sixty five a year? That's not even happening in Windows. And most of the ones that I've heard about require physical access to the machine, or for the attacker to be on the network. And the very few that have been able to be remotely triggered have been fixed within the month through Apple's software update.

  • What's with all the [edits]? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lazerf4rt (969888) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:27PM (#17864318)

    Check out this part of TFA:

    Yes, although security is a [complicated concept]. You're [referring to] the fact that there have been some security updates already for Windows Vista. This is exactly the way it should work. When somebody comes to us [after discovering a vulnerability] we've got [a fix] before there is any exploit. So it's totally according to plan, and that's why we have the whole Windows Update thing. We made it way harder for guys to do exploits. The number [of violations] will be way less because we've done some dramatic things [to improve security] in the code base. Apple hasn't done any of those things.

    Is this a joke? It sure [is weird] to read an [article that] has so [many freaking] edits. I wonder [if Bill] was swearing [like a] sailor throughout [the] whole interview, and they [had to] clean [up] his potty mouth?

  • Sidebar is 13 years old (Score:5, Informative)

    by kindbud (90044) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:31PM (#17864404) Homepage

    NEWSWEEK: If one of our readers confronted you in a CompUSA and said, "Bill, why upgrade to Vista?" what would be your elevator pitch?

    Bill Gates:     The most effective thing would be if I could sit down with them and just take them through the new look for a couple of minutes, show them the Sidebar...
    Sidebar, new Windows interface from Quarterdeck [findarticles.com]
    Newsbytes News Network, April 6, 1994

    Sidebar is delivered on a single floppy disk, takes up less than 1 megabyte (MB) of hard disk storage space, and less than 300 kilobytes (K) of random access memory (RAM). It also fits on the right edge of the computer's display to take up as little screen space as possible.

    Quarterdeck has exclusive license of Sidebar from Paper Software of Woodstock, New York. Paper Software originally distributed the product on a try-before-you-buy basis as shareware, then Quarterdeck licensed it, made significant changes, and is now shipping the product. The suggested list price is $59.95.
    Yeah, cool new idea there, Bill.

  • Is Gates wrong, or lying? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by djh101010 (656795) * on Friday February 02 2007, @03:44PM (#17864582) Homepage Journal
    OK couple things about his statements that jumped out at me from reading TFA: The number [of violations] will be way less because we've done some dramatic things [to improve security] in the code base. Apple hasn't done any of those things.

    Um, Bill, Apple hasn't had to fix DLL hell, and processes run by a user blowing away system things, because they didn't build those problems in in the first place. They didn't have to block open ports with vulnerable services listening on the by default, because they're not _open_ by default. And so on. Next?

    Question: How about the implication that you need surgery to upgrade? Well, certainly we've done a better job letting you upgrade on the hardware than our competitors have done.

    How so, Bill? What are the hardware requirements for your new OS? How many 5 year old boxes, or even 3 year old boxes, meet that?

    You can choose to buy a new machine, or you can choose to do an upgrade. And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it's superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say? Does honesty matter in these things, or if you're really cool, that means you get to be a lying person whenever you feel like it? There's not even the slightest shred of truth to it.

    So Bill is saying, that there's no truth to the statement that you need to make hardware changes if you want to upgrade to vista. NO truth to it.

    Tell that to my inlaws; they'll need a new box entirely.

    I mean, it's fascinating, maybe we shouldn't have showed so publicly the stuff we were doing, because we knew how long the new security base was going to take us to get done. Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine.

    OK Bill, show me the figures. Show me a total exploit on OSX. Now, show me 365 of them for each year it's been out. Back up your figures or be shown to be the liar you are.

    I just can't keep going through this, I think that one says it all about the guy's outright lies, and/or complete lack of clue. So, windows fanbois, is he lying, or is he clueless?

  • You call that an elevator pitch? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cgrayson (22160) * on Friday February 02 2007, @03:58PM (#17864812) Homepage

    NEWSWEEK: If one of our readers confronted you in a CompUSA and said, "Bill, why upgrade to Vista?" what would be your elevator pitch?

    Bill Gates: The most effective thing would be if I could sit down with them and just take them through the new look for a couple of minutes, show them the Sidebar, show them the way the search lets you go through lots of things, including lots of photos. Set up a parental control. And then I might edit a high-definition movie and make a little DVD that's got photos. As I went through, they'd think, "Wow, is that something I could use, would that make a difference for me?"

    I'm a developer, but even I know the sales-jargon phrase elevator pitch [wikipedia.org]. I don't know many 30-second elevator rides that afford a chance to sit down with someone for a couple of minutes. They must have really nicely furnished, though slow, elevators in Redmond. (Wow, is that allegorical to Vista, or what? ;-)

    Anyway, there is no way on God's green earth that Bill Gates doesn't know what "elevator pitch" means. So the answer really is, no, there is not a quick and compelling explanation for why one should upgrade to Vista. Instead, there is a long, laborious demo that ends in a rhetorical question about whether there's anything useful.

    To which the answer is probably, "No."

  • Lies, Damned Lies, and Bill Gates (Score:5, Informative)

    by LKM (227954) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:51PM (#17865840) Homepage

    Gates' claims are so absurd, they're not really worth refuting. So instead I'll go to bed and let Gruber do the job. [daringfireball.net]

    Good night.

    • > I haven't heard about all those Mac exploits he's referring to, have you?

      I have. They exist. (Most of) The exploits themselves would take a phenomenal amount of knowledge about the entire underlying OS to turn them into a full-fledged rootkit installation exploit but they do exist.

      > When somebody comes to us [after discovering a vulnerability] we've got [a fix] before there is any exploit

      Bill. I thought you were an uber-hacker. You should know better. This is only true if they come to you with the vulnerability before they've written the full-fledged exploit.

      > The number [of violations] will be way less because we've done some dramatic things [to improve security] in the code base. Apple hasn't done any of those things.

      This statement is borderline libelous. Just the facts, please.

    • Re:Well, of course he's saying that. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by uradu (10768) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:55PM (#17864762)
      What hasn't sunk in with Bill and probably never will is that most Windows users are pragmatists and not fanboys. There simply isn't much in the OS to incite rabid love and loyalty, just the sober realization and acceptance that it's an OS with the widest hardware support, the most available software, and which runs on a cheaper and more open hardware platform. Other than that, there are plenty of more elegant and emotionally engaging operating systems out there.

    • Re:upgrading (Score:5, Informative)

      by kebes (861706) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:32PM (#17864424) Journal
      I think the point is that to upgrade a Mac to the latest version of Mac OS X doesn't require rebuilding the computer (nor buying a new one). In fact each version of OS X is a little more efficient and streamlined, so that older hardware may actually run *faster* with the new OS.

      (I'm not saying I particularly approve of the Apple ads, but I don't think your comments about having to throw out apple hardware are particularly fair.)

    • Re:upgrading (Score:5, Interesting)

      by qwertphobia (825473) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:35PM (#17864470)
      I'm running 10.5 on a 7-year-old G4, among other systems. It is in the same configuration as when it was purchased (dual-500 g4's, 1 GB Ram) except that the hard drive has been replaced (40 GB -> 60 GB).

      It might have been a large machine when it was purchased, but it wasn't all that unusual for a Mac. It might not be the fastest computer but it will run the OS faster than it ran the OS it came with (or any other since).

      Let's see you run Vista on a 7-year-old Dell.

      • Re:upgrading (Score:5, Funny)

        by mkiwi (585287) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:34PM (#17865522)
        Let's see you run Vista on a 7-year-old Dell.

        I tried, unfortunately he did not make it through surgery. He did give me his peripherals, though.

        • Re:upgrading (Score:5, Informative)

          by be-fan (61476) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:04PM (#17864930)
          When OS X 10.3 (Panther) discontinued support for the Beige G3s, the line was six years old and had been discontinued for four. It makes sense that Apple chose to abandon support for a line of machines that wouldn't have run the new OS acceptably anyway.

          Linux can get away with supporting ancient hardware because, well, because they don't actually have to support it. Nobody calls up the GNOME foundation complaining that 2.16 crawls on their PIII-450 with 256MB of RAM. In comparison, Apple actually has to live up to the specifications they outline on the box.

        • Re:upgrading (Score:5, Interesting)

          by larkost (79011) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:05PM (#17864950)
          That particular case was when 10.3 came out and allowed accelerated graphics to be used on computers that had AGP slots in them (since AGP allowed for enough bandwidth for this feature to be useful). Some people did find the trick to enable it on PCI-only machines (like yours), and found that because of the lack of bandwidth between memory and the graphics card it was actually slower.

          So... is your argument is that Apple should have made your computer slower, or that Apple should have somehow caused your PCI clot to become a AGP slot using software only?

          And since then there have been a number of changes in this sub-system. Each time Apple has allowed older computers to continue running they way they were, and allowed newer computers to be faster with a very few extra eye-candy touches (like a rotating cube). They have not created distinctly different functionality (yet). Vista does go a little further down this road, and there is a chance that 10.5 will too with CoreAnimation (I have no non-public information on this: pure speculation).

        • Re:upgrading (Score:5, Insightful)

          by poot_rootbeer (188613) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:08PM (#17865012)
          There was absolutely nothing I could do to make the system run it. Oh sure, the system could be upgraded with a new processor, memory, hard drive or whatever, but no upgrade would allow [my beige G3 Mac to run OS X 10.2].

          I feel ya, brother. I mean, I'm trying to get Vista Home Edition to run on my 486DX2/66, and it just won't, no matter which components I upgrade!

        • Re:upgrading, Huh? (Score:5, Informative)

          by be-fan (61476) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:11PM (#17865050)
          I don't think the argument is that PC hardware upgrades are easier than hardware upgrades on the Mac, but rather that Vista requires very substantial hardware upgrades while Leopard won't. Each release of OS X tends to be faster than the previous one, on the same hardware (though they usually use more memory). Tiger runs perfectly fine on a circa-2001 PowerMac G4 (composited windows and all), and so will Leopard. Meanwhile, Vista is going to crawl on a circa-2001 Athlon XP with a Geforce 2, and won't do Aero Glass on that machine at all.

          To put a sharper point on it, Apple's upgrade cycle is very gradual, and very incremental. They release a new major version every year or two. Each new version obsoletes a couple of the oldest supported models, and breaks a minor number of applications. An upgrade is generally not very traumatic. Meanwhile, Vista is being released half a decade after its predecessor. It's instantly obsoleting a huge amount of hardware, and breaking a lot of applications in the process.

    • Re:Is he on crack, again? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by burnin1965 (535071) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:50PM (#17864662) Homepage

      every OS has its place for the people that use it. Use what you like and what you're comfortable with. If your OS is getting in your way, you're using the wrong OS. (Reasons why Linux still sits in a relatively unused 20GB partition on my HDD)
      I used to have that attitude, but as someone who uses the internet heavily I now understand that the choices others make have significant and serious effects on the quality of the internet for everyone who uses it.

      When the OS you feel comfortable with results in my inbox filled with spam from zombied machines, my firewall and server log files are filled with lame Windows attacks on my non-Windows machines, or the accessibility of a web site or portion of the internet becomes pathetically slow as one of those bot nets goes on a rampage, your choice of OS sucks ass.

      If your not connected to the internet then choose what ever crappy OS you want, if your going to be part of a public network, consider how your choice will affect others on that public network.

    • Four Apple bugs in a month, when looking!! (Score:5, Informative)

      by SuperKendall (25149) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:52PM (#17864694)
      The MOAB actually only came up with three or four Apple bugs, the rest were in third party software that also applied under Linux and Windows!

      The most serious exploit (Quicktime) could only be replicated by one in sixty people, and that was when RUNNING A CUSTOM EXECUTABLE LOCALLY, generating the attack file from the binaries on your computer - again, which only worked for one in sixty people.

      Ridiculous. Now we know exactly what projects like MOAB lead to, idiocy at the highest levels of the executive quarter.

    • Re:Those Ads ARE Misleading (Score:5, Interesting)

      by thefinite (563510) on Friday February 02 2007, @03:58PM (#17864828)
      Seriously, come on. The ad where the PC buys the Mac that C++ reference manual that he secretly lusts after himself is just so much blatant false image building it's ridiculous. Are they implying that Mac programmers live in a glorious world where technical manuals are unnecessary? Or that every windows user is a technical programmer? It's ludicrous.

      The point, of course, is that it takes being the kind of person that wants a C++ GUI programming guide to actually enjoy and really understand Windows.

      The "home movie" comparisons where the shapely woman is the mac one and the ugly unshaven guy in drag is from the PC is just dumb.

      Easy to say, but I defy you to make a movie in MovieMaker that looks anything close to as good as one made in iMovie. Have you even used iMovie?

      The PC going in for surgery is another joke. At least he PC CAN be upgraded instead of simply requiring replacement for a major OS update.

       Any Mac made in the last five years can upgrade to Tiger without more than a memory upgrade and actually run many things faster. I speak from personal experience on this and the iMac I had was actually six years old. The point was that you don't *need* a hardware upgrade to upgrade the OS.

      When you call someone a liar you need to provide evidence to that effect.

    • Re:Not a fan of the ads (Score:5, Insightful)

      by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF (813746) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:00PM (#17864852)

      I am not a big fan of the "I am a Mac" ads. Being a Linux user, I don't care that much about OS X or Windows based PCs. So perhaps my opinion is unbiased.

      I think the fact that you know what Slashdot is makes you the wrong viewer for those ads. I'm an OS X fan, and I use Linux and Windows every day. I probably have a better handle on each platform's strengths and weaknesses than most people. Those ads are targeting people who don't even know what an "OS" is. Try to put yourself in the mindset that you have never heard of Linux, and you don't know what an OS is. Now imagine, all the computers at the store(Walmart) run Windows. You don't even know where you'd get a computer that ran something else, except maybe if there was a Web site. Now imagine you've only ever run Windows, and you don't have any idea how you get viruses or worms or trojans. You've heard of Apple computer and know they sell Macintosh computers, but you don't know how you'd use one or where to get one or if they are better in any way. Now watch the ads again.

      From the perspective of a computer geek these ads are patronizing and imply some inaccurate things. They are not precise and the concepts they explain are way fuzzier than in the real world. For average people, however, the messages they convey are fairly truthful and simple enough for people to understand. "Getting a mac means negligible chance of malware" is a valuable message for the clueless and I wish more would listen to it.

      I think that these ads might offend Windows users instead of getting them to switch to the cool side. These ads do not show the strength of Macs. These focus more on insulting Windows based PCs.

      They focus on benefits of the mac the average person can understand. I dare you to drive to the middle nowhere in Iowa and try to explain to an average person the benefits of having a capable bash shell instead of the Windows command prompt or Cygwin, in 30 seconds or less. Or explain system services or not being part of a monoculture or default network services settings.

      Moreover, don't know why, but I've always felt that any company that really has superior products doesn't have to attack the competition this way.

      When you're dealing with a monopolized product often the only way to market a product is to compare it to something the user does know about. If people don't know why they should go out of their way to get a mac instead of just picking up a Windows box anywhere, they aren't going to do it.

      ps. I know that writing something against Apple might not go very well with my Karma, though :-(

      People often complain about an anti-windows or pro-linux or pro-mac bias on Slashdot. Most of those people are incorrect in my experience. I say good and bad things about the actions/functions/features/or image of all three regularly and I haven't noticed any one being modded more than the others. I made comments both in favor of and criticizing Linux development on the desktop yesterday and both were modded way up. So long as what you say has value, in general the masses overpower the occasional fanboy who thinks Linux or Windows or Mac is some sort of religious choice.

    • Re:Speaking of misleading... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF (813746) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:14PM (#17865108)

      And I'm not being funny, but it's easier to upgrade a PC than a Mac.

      Umm, in what way? If you compare Apple machines to comparable PCs, they are about the same ease of upgrading hardware. Now Apple sells more all-in-ones, laptops, and small form factor machines than average, so I suppose you could argue that Apple makes more machines that are harder to upgrade, but that is pretty, bloody weak.

      for example if you want you can change the motherboard etc. - can't exactly do that with a Mac tower.

      Actually you can, they're just expensive and you have more limited hardware options. Having limited hardware option != harder to upgrade though. They are different issues.

      How about some counter points. When upgrading hardware on the mac, you never have to worry about calling Apple to get a new key, because your OS decided you are a criminal. You never have to worry about reinstalling the OS, or OS's in succession because you only have an "upgrade" version. If you are replacing the whole machine, say you got a new laptop, moving all your files, software, certs, accounts, etc. from the old one to the new one is an order of magnitude easier with a mac.

    • Bill is reacting because the media has woken up (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bonch (38532) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:29PM (#17865400)
      In nearly every single Vista article, there is mention of OS X and how it's had these features for years, which is a refreshing change. It's been extremely frustrating for Mac users the last six years because they had this OS that, despite early flaws, was years ahead of its time, but the tech media continued to ignore it. Maybe this started after OS X Tiger was released, but since last year's Vista delay, the media has been really harsh toward Vista and praiseworthy toward Apple. It's like they're finally giving Apple some long overdue credit for keeping the momentum going on OS X while the "biggest software company in the world" couldn't even squeeze out an update to its aging Win32 codebase.

      It's like the press finally realized how behind Windows is and how it never really came to dominate the market based on its merits. Microsoft just got lucky with a braindead IBM contract in the 80s and rode the commodity PC wave. Everybody has realized that Microsoft isn't that big and scary at all, and now that they're being forced to compete with Google, Apple, and others, we see just how floundering they are. The tactics they used to use in the 90s (announcing vaporware to freeze the market, releasing buggy 1.0 versions and getting OEMs to bundle them over competitors, etc.) don't work anymore.

      Vista is a headache to use. The interface, the extra dialogs, the multiple menu styles, the redundant buttons...it's a schizophrenic OS, and it even runs your games slower. Apps like Windows DVD Maker are a pathetic joke compared to iLife. I bet we didn't see an iLife '07 announcement at MacWorld because it's going to be bundled right into Leopard as part of the OS, just to stick it to Microsoft even further.

      Seeing Bill's reaction is just funny. This isn't the first interview he's been asked about OS X--there's a clip on YouTube where a CNN guy asks him about it as well, and Bill just pauses and reacts. It's funny. The press is finally waking up.

    • Never challenge an attacker? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by GaryPatterson (852699) on Friday February 02 2007, @04:42PM (#17865658)
      I don't know if there *was* a virus on OS X, but...

      I challenge all those virus-writing bozos to write one! Clearly they haven't got the faintest idea how to create something truly malicious when they don't have a bunch of pretty scripts already written for them. Not a single virus? That shows these bain-dead hacks can't write real code for peanuts. They're hopeless jokes and OS X users laugh about them all the time. And their mothers are too fat.

      There. I said it.

      Someone had to.

      "Never challenge an attacker" ?

      In the case of security, I *want* OS X to be the subject of intense scrutiny. I want people combing the OS for hooks they can hang malware on. This will force Apple to respond and make the OS more secure. If this doesn't happen, the OS will stay as it is (and that's not a bad level of security right now).

      The MOAB fizzled out to a few third-party issues (most fixed by now) a few categories of Apple issues and a *lot* of invective from those bozos. They were useless hacks unfit to call themselves researchers. They failed comprehensively to find that "smoking gun" which would have catapulted them to the notoriety they sought.

      So, who's next? Any wanna-be virus writers looking for a challenge? Or are you all too chicken? Are you all incapable?

      I double-dog dare you!

    • Re:I'd say he's running scared..... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Dracos (107777) on Friday February 02 2007, @05:07PM (#17866108)

      I'd say that Bill is a bit scared that Vista will flop, or worse, people will just buy a Mac.

      I'd go so far as to say that the only thing keeping Vista from being a flop is MS' strongarm agreements with the OEM's.

      If no one at MS can come up with a single compelling reason to get Vista other than irrelevant eye candy, then there must not be one. Nobody wants Vista, because there's no real value in it, and because MS can't tell anyone why they should want Vista.

      The next couple of years will be a huge opportunity for Apple and/or Lunix.

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