EDS: Linux is insecure, unscalable

Large enterprises should not use Linux because it is not secure enough, has scalability problems and could fork into many different flavours, according to the Agility Alliance, which includes IT heavyweights EDS, Fuji Xerox, Cisco, Microsoft, Sun, Dell and EMC.

The alliance comprises a group of IT hardware and software firms that have combined their expertise and products to help EDS create ‘best of breed’ solutions and compete with the likes of IBM Global Services and Hewlett-Packard for the most lucrative government and enterprise contracts.

It was first announced in the US during 2004 but senior executives from partner companies gathered in Sydney on Wednesday to officially launch the Alliance in Asia Pacific.

At the launch, Robb Rasmussen, vice president of EDS Global Alliances, explained that the alliance does not consider Linux to be a suitable operating system for the largest of enterprise customers because the open source operating system has issues with security, scalability and the possibility of forking.

"From a corporate perspective, we are not confident where Linux is right now today. A large enterprise needs to be sure because it relates to securifying [sic] the environment. We see some of the same things occurring that did to Unix -- it could splinter into many different types of languages. We are quite cautious about Linux and its deployment," said Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said he was just as concerned about using Linux on mainframe computers.

"We are concerned about security on an open standard environment like that. We are also concerned about some of the scalability issues that we are seeing on our clients on a global basis. Also, we are somewhat cautious about what happened with Unix – it splintered into eight applications -- until McNealy (Scott McNealy, chief executive of Sun) finally announced he won the battle and had the one surviving Unix out there. We think Linux has the possibility of going the same route," said Rasmussen.

Additionally, he said that Linux is not significantly cheaper than alternative operating systems.

"Quite honestly, in the notion of costs, as we look at what we are structuring with our alliance partners, we are not seeing a compelling cost advantage that would lend us towards Linux -- given the other things I have mentioned," said Rasmussen.

Jim Hassell, managing director of Sun Microsystems Australia, argued that Linux was no loss to the Agility Alliance because it could use Solaris 10 instead of Linux rival Red Hat.

"If you test Red Hat against Solaris 10 against whatever else… we would say that Solaris 10 beats it hands down on functionality and everything else," said Hassell.

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Talkback 120 comments

  1. Funny, but that's the first time I've seen "EDS" and "best of breed" used together in the same sentence without a negative somewhere. Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    Funny, but that's the first time I've seen "EDS" and "best of breed" used together in the same sentence without a negative somewhere.

  2. prhaps EDS would like to 'securify' there managed systems here in the SA government... Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    prhaps EDS would like to 'securify' there managed systems here in the SA government...

  3. prhaps EDS would like to 'securify' there managed systems here in the SA government... Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    prhaps EDS would like to 'securify' there managed systems here in the SA government...

  4. More F.U.D. - and especially with Microsoft in the herd here, it makes it all the more evident. AS IF a company that wanted to integrate GNU/linux into their environment would use a heap of different flavours - that is almost an insult to the in Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    More F.U.D. - and especially with Microsoft in the herd here, it makes it all the more evident.

    AS IF a company that wanted to integrate GNU/linux into their environment would use a heap of different flavours - that is almost an insult to the intelligence of IT management all across the boards.

    As stated, this is purely F.U.D. and should have been recognised by the supposedly intelligent staff at ZDNET Australia (Oh, wait - they're also allied with Microsoft - sorry - forgot that bit.)

  5. Gods I wish these FUD-mongers would shut up and put up. Or at least try to compete on the basis of the actual merits of their software (although Microsoft has only one merit: a Moron friendly, clunky sack of excrement they call an OS). I ask you this, if Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    Gods I wish these FUD-mongers would shut up and put up. Or at least try to compete on the basis of the actual merits of their software (although Microsoft has only one merit: a Moron friendly, clunky sack of excrement they call an OS). I ask you this, if Linux is so crap and can't scale... why is it running %60 of the worlds fastest supercomputers? and why does it continue to be the fastest growing server-side OS on the market? why? because it's secure, stable, and with the advent of 2.6 it's more scalable than ever before. I think we should also note who is in this alliance.. Sun and Microsoft? hmm... the two companies most threatened by the rising adoption of linux? I wonder why they would be so quick to spread F.U.D..... I think we know what's going on here.. Bulls**t on a grand scale...

    __________________________________________________
    ...Gentoo, All Your Base Are Belong To Us...

  6. Obviously the comment about "securifying" came from the president of the US as part of his pro-monopoly strategery. (Bush is famous over here for mangling the language--he apparently actually said "strategery" once.) Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    Obviously the comment about "securifying" came from the president of the US as part of his pro-monopoly strategery. (Bush is famous over here for mangling the language--he apparently actually said "strategery" once.)

  7. "Follow the money". Not surprising to find that Microsoft wants people to believe that their only serious competitor in this space isn't up to par. As always, it all depends on your definition of *security*. Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    "Follow the money".

    Not surprising to find that Microsoft wants people to believe that their only serious competitor in this space isn't up to par.

    As always, it all depends on your definition of *security*.

  8. I am very troubled that a company with seemingly good pedigree, EDS, has people who are clearly reading and regurgitating fear, uncertainty and doubt being churned out by the likes of the Business Software Alliance and Microsoft. Anonymous -- 16/03/05

    I am very troubled that a company with seemingly
    good pedigree, EDS, has people who are clearly
    reading and regurgitating fear, uncertainty and
    doubt being churned out by the likes of the
    Business Software Alliance and Microsoft.

    But then again, thanks for the comedy!

  9. EDS was responsible for crashing 80,000 UK Government PCs: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1732672,00.asp Most of the desktop computers in the UK's Department for Work and Pensions were paralyzed for four days on Monday, when a fa Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    EDS was responsible for crashing 80,000 UK Government PCs:

    http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1732672,00.asp

    Most of the desktop computers in the UK's Department for Work and Pensions were paralyzed for four days on Monday, when a failed upgrade took them offline. The outage, covering 75 percent to 80 percent of the DWP's 80,000 PCs, is one of the largest in the UK government's not entirely impressive IT history.
    And possibly one of the most costly. According to staff reports, the outage occurred on Monday afternoon, disconnecting staff e-mail, benefits processing, and Internet and intranet connectivity. According to one, a limited network upgrade from Windows 2000 to Windows XP was taking place, but instead of this taking place on only a small number of the target machines, all the clients connected to the network received a partial, but fatal, "upgrade."

    Another source says that the DWP was trialing Windows XP on a small number ("about seven") of machines. "EDS was going to apply a patch to these. Unfortunately the request was made to apply it live and it was rolled out across the estate, which hit around 80 percent of the Win2K desktops. This patch caused the desktops to BSOD and made recovery rather tricky as they couldn't boot to pick any further patches or recalls. I gather that [Microsoft Corp.] consultants have been flown in from the U.S. to clear up the mess." EDS is also thought to be flying in fire brigades.

  10. EDS does not have the experise to use anything other than Point and click. Even with MS Windows they crash systems and cost their clients. They are Microsoft's puppets and I would be concerned about their competence especially after they crashed 80,000 UK Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    EDS does not have the experise to use anything other than Point and click. Even with MS Windows they crash systems and cost their clients. They are Microsoft's puppets and I would be concerned about their competence especially after they crashed 80,000 UK governemt PCs.

  11. I find this disturbing since some companies like Yahoo and Google are using the insecure and unscalable solutions like Linux for their stuff...but what do they know? And what is up with Dell and Sun? They have major Linux investments in place. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    I find this disturbing since some companies like Yahoo and Google are using the insecure and unscalable solutions like Linux for their stuff...but what do they know? And what is up with Dell and Sun? They have major Linux investments in place.

  12. Isn't it funny. McNealy claiming to have the "last surviving UNIX". What about HP-UX? AIX? Those aren't trivial companies either. Funny that both of the companies behind those UNIX flavors have large commitments to Linux. Further surprisin Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Isn't it funny. McNealy claiming to have the "last surviving UNIX". What about HP-UX? AIX? Those aren't trivial companies either. Funny that both of the companies behind those UNIX flavors have large commitments to Linux. Further surprising is the number of losses Sun is sufferring at the hands of Linux concerns.

    Multiple splintered versions? Not possible. All draw from the SAME core software. The only possibility for differences is in the utility toolset. But the functionality remains the same across the board.

    ZDNet Australia should be ashamed at even propagating this FUD.

  13. I suggest that Mr Torvalds speaks to Mr. Gates about security issues. Microsoft have created so many that indeed they are the definitive authority on the subject. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    I suggest that Mr Torvalds speaks to Mr. Gates about security issues. Microsoft have created so many that indeed they are the definitive authority on the subject.

  14. EDS is totaly clueless. The Navy Marine Corp Internet is seen as a total failure. They generally muck up most IT efforts they undertake. And with the likes of Micro$HAFT, SUN, and EDS, most that know better will view this as just more FUD. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    EDS is totaly clueless. The Navy Marine Corp Internet is seen as a total failure. They generally muck up most IT efforts they undertake. And with the likes of Micro$HAFT, SUN, and EDS, most that know better will view this as just more FUD.

  15. I have to ask one quest. What DRUGS are these Guys ON? Where are they getting there information? Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    I have to ask one quest. What DRUGS are these Guys ON? Where are they getting there information?

  16. EDS and security (or M$ and security) aren't even close. Solaris 10 have some technical merits (DTrace etc), but it doesn't give Sun right to claim Linux is not scalable or secure (as opposed to having right to claim that Solaris 10 is scalable and s Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    EDS and security (or M$ and security) aren't even close.
    Solaris 10 have some technical merits (DTrace etc), but it doesn't give Sun right to claim Linux is not scalable or secure (as opposed to having right to claim that Solaris 10 is scalable and secure)

  17. What a load of crap mate! All OS have their ups and downs. Some just need a lot of help from spin doctors and lying ****s. Besides why pay for defective, insecure and otherwise lame operating systems or applications when you can get a Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    What a load of crap mate!

    All OS have their ups and downs. Some just need a lot of help from spin doctors and lying ****s.

    Besides why pay for defective, insecure and otherwise lame operating systems or applications when you can get a better OS for free, not to mention with the source code included.

  18. EDS liked linux so much that they wrote in their case study: The new Linux environment provides a level of security and stability unavailable elsewhere. Because it is open-source software, it also offers significant cost savings on licensing and Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    EDS liked linux so much that they wrote in their case study:

    The new Linux environment provides a level of security and stability unavailable elsewhere. Because it is open-source software, it also offers significant cost savings on licensing and allows EDS to provide faster, more responsive support because programming problems can be diagnosed and repaired more quickly.

    http://www.eds.com/services/casestudies/eds_instant.aspx

  19. You notice Sun was giving face to Linux now they are backstabing linux, the same with Dell. Hmmmm, make sure you don't buy any equipment from Sun or Dell if you want Linux hardware. They have obviously shown there true colors, and never really liked or Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    You notice Sun was giving face to Linux now they are backstabing linux, the same with Dell. Hmmmm, make sure you don't buy any equipment from Sun or Dell if you want Linux hardware. They have obviously shown there true colors, and never really liked or wanted linux, they just wanted the money from the hardware sales. I bet that if you called there tech support on a linux question all they would say would be switch to Solaris, or Switch to Windows, or This wouldn't happen on (Solaris/Windows). McNealy and Dell are nothing but backstabing windows brown nosers.

    And what was that comment about Sun being the only Unix left. Last time I checked there were a couple others like AIX and HP-Unix. Too bad Novell can't pull there Unix License, then Sun would really be hurting.

  20. What a load of cobblers! Just goes to show how much Linux, and other Open Source projects, are eating into a market once dominated by proprietary vendors. This statement is good old fashioned FUD - designed to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the mi Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    What a load of cobblers! Just goes to show how much Linux, and other Open Source projects, are eating into a market once dominated by proprietary vendors. This statement is good old fashioned FUD - designed to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the minds of people who are thinking of dumping their virus infected MS PCs and servers, realising there are much cheaper alternatives to cisco routers and the like.

  21. Hmm, ever noticed how many companies are claiming that linux is insecure but use it in thier own products? Linksys is a division of Cisco Systems, and a seeming large number of thier products run on linux... Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Hmm, ever noticed how many companies are claiming that linux is insecure but use it in thier own products? Linksys is a division of Cisco Systems, and a seeming large number of thier products run on linux...

  22. "Agility Alliance, which includes IT heavyweights EDS, Fuji Xerox, Cisco, Microsoft.." thats when i stopped reading .. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    "Agility Alliance, which includes IT heavyweights EDS, Fuji Xerox, Cisco, Microsoft.."

    thats when i stopped reading ..

  23. Would it surprise you that EMC has Windows Server 2003 built into it? And of course DELL uses EMC hardware for their shared storage devices. No mention on EMC website about windows 2003 being embedded into their hardware. We purchased an EMC Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Would it surprise you that EMC has Windows Server 2003 built into it? And of course DELL uses EMC hardware for their shared storage devices. No mention on EMC website about windows 2003 being embedded into their hardware.

    We purchased an EMC AX100. Once we found out windows 2003 was on it and it consumed 17Gig of hard drive space we shipped it back. I finally asked about the OS when it needed to reboot 3 times to reinitialize.

  24. Ah, come on. A real troll can do better: Try the cl****ic 'Linux is teh suck !!!!1!!11!!!' in your next article. This would be more believable than "Linux is insecure, unscalable". Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Ah, come on. A real troll can do better:
    Try the cl****ic 'Linux is teh suck !!!!1!!11!!!'
    in your next article. This would be more believable
    than "Linux is insecure, unscalable".

  25. If EDS want to make fools of themselves, let them Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    If EDS want to make fools of themselves, let them

  26. Look: c-l-a-s-s-i-c is a dirty word on ZDNet --> cl****ic <-- Funny... Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Look: c-l-a-s-s-i-c is a dirty word on ZDNet

    --> cl****ic <--

    Funny...

  27. You could say they are affraid, they don't have the knowledge to use it, their companies aren't build for it, their staff isn't skilled, etc..... Let's stay by our old stuff, then it'll be fine, we don't have to think. CAUSE WE KNOW IT Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    You could say they are affraid, they don't have the knowledge to use it, their companies aren't build for it, their staff isn't skilled, etc.....

    Let's stay by our old stuff, then it'll be fine, we don't have to think.

    CAUSE WE KNOW IT ALL!!!

  28. According to a Sun rep, Sun's stuff is better than their competitors? What a surprise. Front page news. :-) Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    According to a Sun rep, Sun's stuff is better than their competitors? What a surprise. Front page news. :-)

  29. Best of breed solutions, I think not. I find it kind of ironic that in the article they say that the alliance is made up of companys that are trying to compete in a lucrative market (government/corp contracts) with the likes of IBM. The reason that IBM ow Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Best of breed solutions, I think not. I find it kind of ironic that in the article they say that the alliance is made up of companys that are trying to compete in a lucrative market (government/corp contracts) with the likes of IBM. The reason that IBM owns this market segment is because they have realized the potential of Linux and have used utilized it in their consulting division. If this "alliance" is to ever make it they are going to have to abandon this tunnel vision.

  30. LOL. RedHat 9? MS wake up! Linux grows generations over every 6 months. MS bases and publishes its study based on the older version of RH Linux. None of the stuff you say today is the same stuff we see today. Security bugs get fixed in days (critical i Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    LOL. RedHat 9? MS wake up! Linux grows generations over every 6 months. MS bases and publishes its study based on the older version of RH Linux. None of the stuff you say today is the same stuff we see today. Security bugs get fixed in days (critical in less than a day), the over 60% of Top 500 supercomputers are running Linux (1, not 1%, "is" using Windows, go figure). As for forking, no company wants fork away from standard compilance because "standard compliance" sells. People want choice and interopability.

  31. Hmm. so SUN say "SUN's product is the only real unix and this upstart Linux shouldn't be used" - in an organization designed to compete against IBM (and its pro-unix, pro aix stance).... Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Hmm. so SUN say "SUN's product is the only real unix and this upstart Linux shouldn't be used" - in an organization designed to compete against IBM (and its pro-unix, pro aix stance)....

  32. EDS: Our profits insecure/unscalable. IBM/Linux posts record profits; Dell, Sun are loosers. Lets get real, this is trade industry FUD. IBM posted > $1 Billion per quarter profits from Linux/PowerPC. Those same profit charts show IBM gaining and Sun, D Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    EDS: Our profits insecure/unscalable. IBM/Linux posts record profits; Dell, Sun are loosers. Lets get real, this is trade industry FUD. IBM posted > $1 Billion per quarter profits from Linux/PowerPC. Those same profit charts show IBM gaining and Sun, Dell loosing market share. The IBM PowerPC 720 is (a lot) *faster* and (a lot) *cheaper* than anything that Dell sells in that cl****. Boo hoo for Dell.

    Dell has almost no in-house Linux talent, even though it sort-of tries to play in that space. It hires Linux hackers, and tries to convert them into Windows programmers, and then they quit... what a surprise. This is a recurring story for Dell ... Dell just can't get its **** together on the Linux front. (Of course, if RedHat wasn't busy alienating and ****ing off hardware vendors, Dell might not be in such a bad position).

    What about Oracle? Well, IBM DB2 has whupped Oracle's bottom over the last 5 years, and is now the market leading database. So Oracle can only win by attacking IBM (by attacking Linux, and indirectly attacking the open-source Postgres and MySQL databases).

    What about EMC? Well, It battles IBM daily for the storage market; it can gain by attacking Linux, because, surprise, IBM's big-honking storage servers run Linux!

    I think these guys are having a bad case of profit-envy; they failed to make a dime off of Linux even though they tried. IBM at their lunch. This is a straight-ahead industry salvo of FUD.

  33. this is all lies spawned from Microsoft. Any true OS or security expert will denounce this story. EDS... Stop the MS FUD campaign! Here are the facts: INSECURE MS - over 10,000 viruses in the wild. All of them Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    this is all lies spawned from Microsoft.

    Any true OS or security expert will denounce this story.

    EDS... Stop the MS FUD campaign!

    Here are the facts:

    INSECURE
    MS - over 10,000 viruses in the wild. All of them have been sucessful in comprimising Windows (all versions)

    Linux - none

    MS - poorly written hacks upon a stolen OS architechture written by David Cutler. Windows is exactly that... hacked code to provide FEATURES only, NOT SECURITY.

    Linux - secure by design (google and read)!

    UNSCALABLE
    MS - Windows has no future unless it is scrapped and re-written from the ground up. There is no scalability when there is no more room to hack the code. That's why WE ALL will keep hearing headlings like "longhorn to debut in 2007", because they have to keep buying time to hack.

    Linux - Open Source and 100% scalable (google and read)

  34. This seems like the blind leading the blind. The man doesn't even have a grasp of the English language how can he possibly know what he is talking about? "Securifying?" What the hell is that?!?! Also, Solaris is not the only Unix ou Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    This seems like the blind leading the blind. The man doesn't even have a grasp of the English language how can he possibly know what he is talking about? "Securifying?" What the hell is that?!?!

    Also, Solaris is not the only Unix out there. Mac OS X is Unix, IRIX is Unix, and HP-UX (even though it sucks) is Unix, so he obviously knows nothing about what he speaks and is regurgitating Microsoft propoganda.

    It is really sad that ignorance is tolerated at that level in the corporate structure. You'd think EDS could find someone more intelligent for the money they are paying.

  35. What sort of news article publishes companies talking about their competitors' products as facts? This is a pretty disgusting attempt to mock journalism. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    What sort of news article publishes companies talking about their competitors' products as facts? This is a pretty disgusting attempt to mock journalism.

  36. Bunch of idiots! That's all I can say. Of course is MS saying this, they need to protect their monopoly (with a system that is the worst of all OS's out there). Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Bunch of idiots! That's all I can say. Of course is MS saying this, they need to protect their monopoly (with a system that is the worst of all OS's out there).

  37. GET OVER IT! Linux IS NOT THE BEST!!! Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    GET OVER IT! Linux IS NOT THE BEST!!!

  38. Bunch of cry babies. Someone says that Linux isn't the best OS, and you come out of the woodwork. Linux Losers! Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Bunch of cry babies. Someone says that Linux isn't the best OS, and you come out of the woodwork. Linux Losers!

  39. Forbes says "Linux Rules Supercomputers" http://www.forbes.com/home/enterprisetech/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux.html Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Forbes says "Linux Rules Supercomputers"
    http://www.forbes.com/home/enterprisetech/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux.html

  40. bad news kids.. they are right. ive used linux for 13 years and it gets harder to maintain correctly ever year. im considering seriously dropping linux entirely from my resume and pursuing employment in Sun-centric environments exclusively. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    bad news kids.. they are right. ive used linux for 13 years and it gets harder to maintain correctly ever year. im considering seriously dropping linux entirely from my resume and pursuing employment in Sun-centric environments exclusively.

  41. Nnice piece of fluff. Interesting how all the players are ones you'd identify as having a vested interest in continuing a MS dominated world. ANd for security, the title refences Linux as not being secure enough, but the article only refers to Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Nnice piece of fluff. Interesting how all the players are ones you'd identify as having a vested interest in continuing a MS dominated world.

    ANd for security, the title refences Linux as not being secure enough, but the article only refers to concerns about "open standards". You know, the kind of things that allow for interoperability in most devices on the market?

  42. I think they transposed the words, it should read "Linux: EDS is insecure, unscalable". Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    I think they transposed the words, it should read "Linux: EDS is insecure, unscalable".

  43. Linux like all operating systems has its good and bad points. What is important to note is that it is maturing very quickly due to it's large development community. As for the fool comment about using Linux for 13 years and find it more complex to maintai Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Linux like all operating systems has its good and bad points. What is important to note is that it is maturing very quickly due to it's large development community. As for the fool comment about using Linux for 13 years and find it more complex to maintain try using something like SUSE. Perhaps you use some Linux training

  44. first and formost, ZDnet should be ashamed of themselves for even posting an article like this without it being refered to as some sort of parody. Secondly, anyone that can take someone who makes up words like "securifying" seriously should be Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    first and formost, ZDnet should be ashamed of themselves for even posting an article like this without it being refered to as some sort of parody. Secondly, anyone that can take someone who makes up words like "securifying" seriously should be shot. And Thirdly, WE ALL KNOW THAT IF SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR COMPETITION, IT HAS TO BE TRUE 110% OF THE TIME.

    a little message to anyone reading this, if these ceo's and VP's are right, then what does that make their products, which have been proven time and again to be lacking in the security department more then any build of linux out there... I have seen 3rd graders write more secure code then windows.

  45. O.K. Two of these sell their own OS. The other either provide hardware or services to manage hardware. If a OS does not scale or is difficult to secure, then you would need more boxes and more people to manage and configure those boxes. Which Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    O.K. Two of these sell their own OS. The other either provide hardware or services to manage hardware.

    If a OS does not scale or is difficult to secure, then you would need more boxes and more people to manage and configure those boxes. Which means you need to spend more on hardware and services to manage the hardware.

    If I made money on how many boxes I sold and/or how many of your boxes I need to manage do you think I am going to recommend the one that requires the fewest number of boxes or is the easist to manage.

  46. Someone should tell Google or Akamai about this insecure and unscalable operating system as soon as possible, before they make a big mistake.... Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Someone should tell Google or Akamai about this insecure and unscalable operating system as soon as possible, before they make a big mistake....

  47. Didn't spend much time on it, but 4 of the 5 fastest supercomputers in the world (top500.org) run Linux, guess someone had better tell them that it doesn't scale well. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Didn't spend much time on it, but 4 of the 5 fastest supercomputers in the world (top500.org) run Linux, guess someone had better tell them that it doesn't scale well.

  48. I think it is better to use real case studies to explain the rational behind the lip exercise. Charles Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    I think it is better to use real case studies to explain the rational behind the lip exercise.

    Charles

  49. It's FUD time again! Wow... Micro$oft are really laying on the FUD now. Even the www.linux.org/news page has numerous "Get the FUD" links. Let's see... how many supercomputers are run by WinDos? In my experience the only things scalable with Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    It's FUD time again! Wow... Micro$oft are really laying on the FUD now. Even the www.linux.org/news page has numerous "Get the FUD" links. Let's see... how many supercomputers are run by WinDos? In my experience the only things scalable with WinDos are the price and remote attacks. Micro$oft, for all its monopoly power, can't even support anything other than Intel x86 - they dropped Alpha support long ago, they dropped support for Intel's 'Itanic' CPU, and now they're making an attempt to get things running on AMD64... I don't know, I get the impression that 64 bits is more than Micro$oft can chew. What excuse have they got for their pathetic performace? This free stuff has been running on a huge number of platforms for years. Oh, and can you say 'interoperability'? Someone show me an interoperable WinDos system please - I simply must see this mythical beast.

  50. Linux is why EDS's projects so often fail, no doubt. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Linux is why EDS's projects so often fail, no doubt.

  51. EDS can make claims like this, but it will come back to haunt them. Their motivation is to make money now, don't worry about right or wrong, just make some damn money. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    EDS can make claims like this, but it will come back to haunt them. Their motivation is to make money now, don't worry about right or wrong, just make some damn money.

  52. LINUX PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE!!! Whether it's "best", "more secure" or "more scalable" cannot be decided by people like EDS, but needs to be evaluated case-by-case. The fact that Microsoft and Sun is in this alliance says it Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    LINUX PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE!!! Whether it's "best", "more secure" or "more scalable" cannot be decided by people like EDS, but needs to be evaluated case-by-case. The fact that Microsoft and Sun is in this alliance says it all. Strange to see Cisco in there though.

  53. Just as an aside to jms and his 13 years, don't take that as an end all be all of how Linux has progressed or where it is going. I've used it just as long and have only seen it get easier and easier to maintain. Choices in distros can make a huge differen Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Just as an aside to jms and his 13 years, don't take that as an end all be all of how Linux has progressed or where it is going. I've used it just as long and have only seen it get easier and easier to maintain. Choices in distros can make a huge difference in your experiences with Linux and as I always tell people, when you find one you like, you stick with it and go from there.

    As for this article, yeah, it's FUD. Not even thinly veiled FUD. It's thrown in your face, blatant FUD and to a point all we are doing is feeding the trolls.. er.. writers of ZDNet Australia. This has probably generated for them a TON of traffic and I'm sure their sponsors are thrilled. It did make it to Slashdot so that is guaranteed for a bit of traffic (for the ones that read the article anyways).

  54. Nothing scales *better* than Linux - embedded to supercomputer. Linux scales down. Linux is being shipped in *millions* of little embedded boxes. Like all of Linksys' current wireless and router products. Linux scales up. SGI's 512- Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Nothing scales *better* than Linux - embedded to supercomputer.

    Linux scales down. Linux is being shipped in *millions* of little embedded boxes. Like all of Linksys' current wireless and router products.

    Linux scales up. SGI's 512-processor behmoths run Linux, as do 60% of the top 500 supercomputers in the world. http://www.forbes.com/home/enterprisetech/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux.html

    In both cases, it's not some special "compact edition" or "enterprise edition" of the kernel; it's the same source code.

    I don't know of another operating system which even comes *close* to that performance.

  55. Expain Google, Novell, IBM that has deployed Linux within their company and server farms. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Expain Google, Novell, IBM that has deployed Linux within their company and server farms.

  56. I can't believe this type of rubbish. Funny how the ones most interested in creating and spreading FUD about Linux are the ones who have the most to lose from its success. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    I can't believe this type of rubbish. Funny how the ones most interested in creating and spreading FUD about Linux are the ones who have the most to lose from its success.

  57. This is good news, it shows again that micro**** is scared...and a big **** you to Bill Gates and his stolen crappy OS. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    This is good news, it shows again that micro**** is scared...and a big **** you to Bill Gates and his stolen crappy OS.

  58. Fud, lovely fud. Linus has scalability problems? How many pints of Guiness can he shoulder, you suppose? Security? His kill ratio is still lagging behind comrade bin Laden. Suppose the news is that Scott MacNealy has joined the dark side now. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Fud, lovely fud. Linus has scalability problems? How many pints of Guiness can he shoulder, you suppose? Security? His kill ratio is still lagging behind comrade bin Laden.

    Suppose the news is that Scott MacNealy has joined the dark side now.

  59. They are worried about forks? Let's see there's XP Home, XP Pro, XP Tablet, XP Media Edition, Professional x64 edition, Server 2003, Server 2003 Small Business, Server 2003 Advanced Data Center edition, Server 2003 Web Edition and on and on and on ad Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    They are worried about forks?
    Let's see there's XP Home, XP Pro, XP Tablet, XP Media Edition, Professional x64 edition, Server 2003, Server 2003 Small Business, Server 2003 Advanced Data Center edition, Server 2003 Web Edition and on and on and on ad nausium...either they are the biggest bunch of retards, or they are a bunch of lying dirtbags..this is FUD spread because they know they suck.

  60. IN related news , "McDonalds says Hungry Jacks makes you fat, announces specials on McSalads." Nothing to see here, move along. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    IN related news , "McDonalds says Hungry Jacks makes you fat, announces specials on McSalads."

    Nothing to see here, move along.

  61. Rob Rasmussen is incompetent and does not scale to his own job. Maybe he should look at talking about things he actually understands. Or could it be his job description has lying in it? Try to mislead clients? Oh, maybe he cannot spell vested interest? Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Rob Rasmussen is incompetent and does not scale to his own job. Maybe he should look at talking about things he actually understands. Or could it be his job description has lying in it? Try to mislead clients? Oh, maybe he cannot spell vested interest?

    The funny part is that nobody listens to that kind of FUD anymore.

  62. As a former UNIX Administrator, I've found that RedHat Advanced Server is much more easy to administer than Solaris, AIX, and HP-UX. Patching, security, and package availability on Linux is much better than the rest. Funny that if the "Alliance&quo Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    As a former UNIX Administrator, I've found that RedHat Advanced Server is much more easy to administer than Solaris, AIX, and HP-UX. Patching, security, and package availability on Linux is much better than the rest. Funny that if the "Alliance" believes this FUD, that most of the companies have invested such a large amount of money on Linux. Take Oracle for example... Oracle was traditionally a Sun shop but are now running their entire business on Linux, Dell, and NetApp.

  63. Oracle's Austin Data Center (ADC) is the world's largest Linux installation. It runs more than 9,500 grid computing servers running Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Dell servers and NetApp storage devices. -- Oracle Magazine, March - April 2005 issue Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Oracle's Austin Data Center (ADC) is the world's largest Linux installation. It runs more than 9,500 grid computing servers running Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Dell servers and NetApp storage devices. -- Oracle Magazine, March - April 2005 issue

    Is there a Microsoft Windows or a Sun Solaris implementation comparable to that and would make me believe that Linux does not scale?

  64. Linux scares EDS and its ilk because they can't go the the mothership for support. Linux and open source and open systems requires actual technical competance. EDS likes Windows and UNIX because they can always contract with the vendor do the heavy liftin Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Linux scares EDS and its ilk because they can't go the the mothership for support. Linux and open source and open systems requires actual technical competance. EDS likes Windows and UNIX because they can always contract with the vendor do the heavy lifting. This lets EDS skim off the project management bucks. Ross Perot know this when he started EDS.

    So long as Linux is not controlled by a single vendor, all the proprietary vendors of software will look at Linux as a threat.

    I like it!

  65. There is a grain of truth about the issues with the current activities in the market around Linux. Hopefully even the most zealous Linux bigot should admit that. EDS has had its problems in recent years, because it was focusing on perception and not Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    There is a grain of truth about the issues with the current activities in the market around Linux. Hopefully even the most zealous Linux bigot should admit that.
    EDS has had its problems in recent years, because it was focusing on perception and not reality. Robb is just one voice in a much larger sea of people working in this space. He just has a louder voice. The people who do the work know what needs to be done and are doing it.

  66. ZDNet are the only ones to blame for this. What a bunch of morons. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    ZDNet are the only ones to blame for this.
    What a bunch of morons.

  67. FORBES: "Linux Rules Supercomputers" Forbes claims that 60 percent of supercomputers of current Top500 List are running Linux. Source: http://www.forbes.com/home/enterprisetech/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux.html But perhap Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    FORBES: "Linux Rules Supercomputers"

    Forbes claims that 60 percent of supercomputers of current Top500 List are running Linux. Source:
    http://www.forbes.com/home/enterprisetech/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux.html

    But perhaps somebody should tell those supercomputing guys that 'it doesn't scale'?

    Statistical details:
    Linux: 301 (out of 500) supercomputers
    UNIX: 189 supercomputers
    FreeBSD: 2 supercomputers
    Microsoft Windows 1 (one!) supercomputer (ROTFL)
    other: 7 supercomputers

    Nuff said.

    "Agility Alliance" members should better watch out for their own survival. They might be dead fish faster than they can imagine today.

  68. Show me the paper man, don't just bluf! Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    Show me the paper man, don't just bluf!

  69. You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux is astounding. Its just sad to see that its taking longer for these Dinasaurs to die out. Eventually history repeats itself. Will you be extinct or are you going to be the ones that crawl out from the primortial ooze and florish like the Mamals did?!

  70. You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux is astounding. Its just sad to see that its taking longer for these Dinasaurs to die out. Eventually history repeats itself. Will you be extinct or are you going to be the ones that crawl out from the primortial ooze and florish like the Mamals did?!

  71. You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux is astounding. Its just sad to see that its taking longer for these Dinasaurs to die out. Eventually history repeats itself. Will you be extinct or are you going to be the ones that crawl out from the primortial ooze and florish like the Mamals did?!

  72. You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    You know the Dinasuars once walked the earth. They are now extinct. The problem with reports like these is the people behind them are Dinasuars. This kind of thinking is as bad as the world being flat. The amount of inavation that has spawned from Linux is astounding. Its just sad to see that its taking longer for these Dinasaurs to die out. Eventually history repeats itself. Will you be extinct or are you going to be the ones that crawl out from the primortial ooze and florish like the Mamals did?!

  73. I now cannot look at any EDS person without having a s**** and a smile wondering if all the screws are there! The ZDNet for the midweek humour. Anonymous -- 17/03/05

    I now cannot look at any EDS person without
    having a s**** and a smile wondering if all
    the screws are there!

    The ZDNet for the midweek humour.