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I am always worried non-programmers don't sufficiently understand how pathetic it is that we limp along with bloated Unix and other accidents of history that we
by Ericson2314 5y ago
I am always worried non-programmers don't sufficiently understand how pathetic it is that we limp along with bloated Unix and other accidents of history that were never retired. And this lassies-fair approach to cleanliness and reducing complexity both makes us more vulnerable and less productive.
- AnimalMuppet 5y agoWhy single out Unix and not, you know, Windows?
- eplanit 5y agoExactly -- Windows is the biggest vector for malware, by orders of magnitude.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y agoBecause most IT infrastructure is based on some form of Unix? Linux fans really like to play up the "Windows is so insecure!" rhetoric, but it isn't really true. Linux and the common systems implemented on it, for instance, have had plenty of vulnerabilities. Windows gets an especially bad rap pretty much only because it is the most common Desktop OS, but Desktop Windows and Desktop Linux have the same giant gaping security problem: the human being using them.
- AnimalMuppet 5y agoEverything you say is true, but that wasn't my point. The OP said > ... how pathetic it is that we limp along with bloated Unix and other accidents of history that were never retired. So, why single out Unix? Is Unix more bloated than Windows? I doubt it. Is it more of an accident of history than Windows? No. Is it more in need of being retired than Windows? I think it would take someone with an axe to grind to say so. And that's what my comment was about: Trying to expose that axe being ground.
- Ericson2314 5y agoNo good reason :) Unix is older but yes Windows has all the complexity problems to a much worse degree. I use Unix every day but rarely Windows so I sometimes don't remember it. Our industry self-congradulates on not using Windows like those untechnical normie companies or whatever, but then forgets that other than being FOSS (most of the time), Unix has all the same problems just to a lesser degree. Maybe this is the transition plan we need; first ban Windows in prod for things important enough that government is going to take on the costs if something goes wrong. Then, at some later point, ban Unix too for all the same reasons, just less magnitude.
- AnimalMuppet 5y agoAnd replace them with what?
- Ericson2314 5y agoseL4? Fuchsia? Something else new? We've known for now that proper capability-based security is both more safe and more productive (global state is just hard). We just need to put it into practice.