[Vision2020] "Drink the Redmond Kool-Aid"

Wed Jan 17 13:44:16 PST 2007

Paul et. al.

Thanks for your comments...

I have been tempted to install Linux for an OS, and I have enjoyed using the
Mozilla Firefox web browser.

Some of Microsoft's problems with security may be due to the fact they are
such a big target, that hackers specifically target them.  But I do not
doubt you are correct that software design flaws contribute to the security
problems.  Of course Microsoft uses its dominance as an OS to push out
competition... And they probably do or have violated anti-trust law.

My first thought when I read the phrase "drinking the Redmond kool-aid" was
the "blue screen of death" when Windows crashes.  I knew that Redmond is the
city near Seattle where Microsoft's main business is located.  The Guyana
Jonestown mass suicide was accomplished with poisoned kool-aid (or flavor
aid), so I assumed this was a reference to the tendency for Windows to
crash, without checking on it.

I found one reference that tends to support my interpretation, though the
phrase might not refer to Windows tendency to crash, but to passionate
adoption of a product "with suicidal zeal." Quotes below from this web link:

http://www.thearchitect.co.uk/weblog/archives/2003/03/000112.html

Of course, the main current usage of the phrase is described on the UseLand
web site :

To "Drink the Kool-Aid" is to adopt a religion with suicidal zeal.

"Drinking the Kool-Aid" is a phrase that has been used about
Apple<http://www.redherring.com/mag/issue60/editor.html>and Microsoft
several<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A45180-2000Apr30&notFound=true>
times <http://www.redherring.com/mag/issue82/mag-reinventing-82.html>, as
well as many other hi-tech firms.

------

More on the "drink the kool-aid" phrase:

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/08/physics_of_pass.html

------

Ted Moffett
On 1/16/07, Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Ted Moffett wrote:
>
> >
> > Paul et. al.
> >
> > I wonder if the mayor of Bovill is a truly innocent victim of the
> > digital shenanigans you discuss, given he has been charged with misuse
> > of city computers relating to "pornographic" content:
> >
> > http://www.localnews8.com/story.cfm?nav=news&storyID=122
> > <http://www.localnews8.com/story.cfm?nav=news&storyID=122>
>
>
> It's hard to say without knowing more about the case.  The article seems
> a little confused.  I don't understand the "accidentally sent spam
> e-mail which opened up to porn websites" part.  It's possible he's
> trying to say that he accidentally clicked on an advertisement sent to
> him that was spam that either went to a porn site or to a site that
> installed spyware that delivered porn popup ads.  It would depend upon
> exactly what the forensic expert found.  The part about "eventually
> breaking the machine" indicates to me that it was infested with
> spyware/adware/trojans/etc.  I don't know how they will tell if he
> accessed a porn site through a popup that he had no control over or
> whether he willfully navigated to a porn site.  It would also depend
> upon what the other employees say and so forth.
>
> >
> > I wonder if you can offer your opinion on Microsoft's new OS, Vista?
> > It is supposed to have much better security.  Anyone buying a new
> > computer will soon have Vista as an pre-installed option.
>
>
> I haven't used Vista yet, and hope not to for a while.  I've decided
> that XP was the last Microsoft OS that I plan to install at home.  I
> don't expect everyone to have this same sort of bias, but I have learned
> over the years to be sceptical of Microsoft's claims about security.
> That doesn't mean that they didn't get it right this time, though.
>
> >
> > As I read about Vista in PC magazine, and Microsoft security software,
> > I discovered Microsoft has made a push to invade the security software
> > market to threaten the other dominant players with "Windows OneCare,"
> > which can protect against the threats you discussed.  What do you
> > think about this option?
> >
> >
> http://news.com.com/Microsoft+security+service+to+ship+in+June/2100-7350_3-6036290.html
>
>
> I am particularly upset about this, because flaws in Microsoft products
> account for the majority of spyware/virus problems.  It would be kind of
> like a city selling heavy-duty shocks to it's citizens for a profit
> because no one can drive on their roads without damaging their cars
> because there are so many potholes and they refuse to fix them.
>
> >
> > As you mentioned, you did not comment on Microsoft's IE7 browser, but
> > if it does function better in regards to security, why not have it on
> > your list of options?  Or do you really suspect it is not as good with
> > security as Mozilla Firefox?
>
>
> I didn't put it on my list because I haven't used it and would hate to
> tell everyone to move to it and find it has more problems that IE6 did.
> IE7 may be as good as or better than Firefox, I just don't know.
> Microsoft has annoyed me so many times that they have to have an
> extremely good reason for me to continue with their product, whether it
> comes bundled with the OS or not.  I am skeptical of their claims of
> better security mainly because I have heard it all before.  Yes, they
> are slowly making progress, but they have been trying to sell their OS
> as "more secure" since Windows NT 4.0 at least.
>
> Firefox is made by ordinary people who are just as fed up as I am with
> Microsoft's heavy-handed policies and shoddy software.  It's a positive
> work of art that is truly built with the user in mind and not some
> ethically-dubious goal locking people into their product.  Firefox gets
> better quickly, while IE has been stagnant for years until real
> competition came around.  I can also get behind the open source concept,
> which means that you are free to use and free to redistribute just as
> long as you give any changes you have made yourself back to the
> community.  I find that a great arrangement, and try to favor open
> source products at home and (when I can) at the office.
>
> >
> > Well, as many computer savvy insiders, you obviously think Microsoft's
> > software sucks!
>
>
> I would like to point out that not all of their software sucks.  Parts
> of the operating system are of a nice design, some of their development
> environments are nice to use, and I really love their older ergonomic
> keyboard.
>
> However, they have done lots of bad things over the years, and don't
> seem to be making any real changes in their behavior despite being ruled
> a monopoly and brought up on charges of unfair business practices here
> in the US and in Europe.  They constantly leverage their monopoly on
> desktops to force competitors in other areas out of business.  They make
> sure their product is the defacto standard because it is installed on
> 90%+ of the computers out there, and then tweak their standards so that
> the competition (which adheres to the official standards) breaks.  They
> constantly change their own file formats for their office products so
> that people are forced to upgrade because they can't read the new
> formats that are being sent to them in emails.  They constantly make bad
> choices, such as making ActiveX so easy to abuse by website authors or
> having their email product execute files by default, that causes many
> problems for millions of people (such as the topic that started this
> thread - spyware).  They are forcing DRM down people's throats through
> their monopoly.
>
> In short, they don't play nice.  So I don't do business with them if I
> can help it.  Even if it hurts me.
>
> >
> > What does, "drink of the Redmond kool-aid?" mean?
>
>
> I don't see where that was said, but it probably equates to "believing,
> without skepticism or critical thought, press-releases from the
> Microsoft company".  The main Microsoft campus is in Redmond, Washington.
>
> Paul
>
> =======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20070117/dcfb4885/attachment-0001.html 