Google ditching Windows workstations to shore up security
A lot of this is in response to their getting hacked by China last year. Employees will now have the choice of a Mac or a PC running Linux, the article didn't specify which flavor.
If you need to run Windows, you have to get permission from VERY high up, you need approval from the CIO.
There's an interesting paragraph:
The move created mild discontent among some Google employees, appreciative of the choice in operating systems granted to them - an unusual feature in large companies. But many employees were relieved they could still use Macs and Linux. “It would have made more people upset if they banned Macs rather than Windows,” he added. (emphasis mine)
Ultimately, I'm sure they'll eat their own dog food and base their operations on Chrome/Android, but those platforms still need some maturing.
The article might need to be taken with a grain of salt: they quote Google's employee base as more than 10,000; there are sources saying it's more than 20k.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab49a.html
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/06/01/011203/Google-Reportedly-Ditching-Windows
This was yesterday. So today, naturally, Microsoft releases a rebuttal, which I'm not going to bother going in to at any length. It's basically saying we've made lots of improvements, and the Mac is far from secure. What they don't bother mentioning is that 99% of the malware out there targets Windows because that's where the machines are.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/06/02/2218231/Microsoft-Talks-Back-To-Googles-Security-Claims
If you need to run Windows, you have to get permission from VERY high up, you need approval from the CIO.
There's an interesting paragraph:
The move created mild discontent among some Google employees, appreciative of the choice in operating systems granted to them - an unusual feature in large companies. But many employees were relieved they could still use Macs and Linux. “It would have made more people upset if they banned Macs rather than Windows,” he added. (emphasis mine)
Ultimately, I'm sure they'll eat their own dog food and base their operations on Chrome/Android, but those platforms still need some maturing.
The article might need to be taken with a grain of salt: they quote Google's employee base as more than 10,000; there are sources saying it's more than 20k.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab49a.html
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/06/01/011203/Google-Reportedly-Ditching-Windows
This was yesterday. So today, naturally, Microsoft releases a rebuttal, which I'm not going to bother going in to at any length. It's basically saying we've made lots of improvements, and the Mac is far from secure. What they don't bother mentioning is that 99% of the malware out there targets Windows because that's where the machines are.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/06/02/2218231/Microsoft-Talks-Back-To-Googles-Security-Claims