>>And since MS isn't going to be selling or supporting their legacy OSes any >>more, how are they going to do that?<<
I warned you not to get me started on this. <g> We discussed this very issue after the DAFUG meeting a couple of months ago. I am not a fan of legislating every darn thing in our lives, but I am leaning more towards this one getting the governments involved. It is my believe that all operating systems are mission critical to almost every human being in some fashion, and like cars should be subject to recalls. There are laws to force auto manufacturers to supply car parts for a long time (I am not exactly sure of the length of time). There are laws regulating cars that have safety or engineering defects get recalled and fixed for free (consumers do not have to pay for the fix other than the loss of their car while the dealer makes the correction). I think the same type of rules can be applied to *all* operating systems. The operating system has bugs (engineering defects) that affect the safety of the users losing data and work product. The operating system obviously needs security patches (parts). I think the correlation between the two means companies like Microsoft, Apple, the Linux Open Source groups, IBM, DEC, etc. have a responsibility to their customers to support the operating systems we count on. So the argument made against this was simple: other members asked me if I was going to support my software forever and fix bugs and make patches available. Strange, I already do. I also understand the realities of perpetual fixes and terms like "support forever and ever" not being a good thing for all businesses. The reality of this can also be equated to the auto industry. If I have a 84 Chevy I can still get parts and can still find someone to fix my car. I can't really count on a recall to get something fixed, but I can hire a mechanic to do so for me out of my own pocket. I think there is some realistic time lines that can be applied to operating systems. I just think 10 years is too short for security fixes. But I am not a person who is even remotely inclined to run for legislative office, and I am not qualified to begin to understand all the ramifications involved with an idea like this one. But that has not stopped hundreds of others from doing so in Washington and the 50 states here in the USA and in governments around the world. Rick White Light Computing, Inc. www.whitelightcomputing.com www.rickschummer.com 586.254.2530 - office 586.254.2539 - fax _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
