Two weeks ago, I wondered out loud about the top 10 worst IT business decisions ever made and nominated HP's decision to follow DEC down the road to oblivion for top spot. Today I'd like to suggest that the U.S. Defense Department's continued use of Microsoft's software is likely to top a future list of this kind.
The equation here is simple. First, recognize that Microsoft's software security depends crucially on keeping its source code secret. That's not a comment from an anti-Microsoft bigot -- it's the testimony given under oath by Microsoft vice president Jim Allchin. Even limited release of Microsoft's code, Allchin told judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's federal court in May 2002, would threaten national security because the code is both seriously flawed and widely used in the Defense Department.
But consider that only nine months later, in February 2003, Microsoft announced an agreement giving communist China full access to the source code for Windows and related tools.
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