DOD says open source is “more secure, less expensive” than Windows. Duh.
Microsoft has been pushing the Department of Defense to give up it’s open source use in favor of Windows. Today the Washington Post reports (amidst all the Chandra Levy stories) that a “report prepared for the Defense Department concluded that open source often results in more secure, less expensive applications and that, if anything, its use should be expanded.” Oops. That’s what happens when you ask someone to actually examine the real space instead of listen to the marketeers.
Given their own track record, I don’t understand Microsoft’s strategy of bashing open source software on the grounds of security, especially when there are much better arguments in favor of Microsoft technology, such as the plethora of applications and developers for their platform.