Trusting Microsoft More Than A Bank
from the feel-free dept
David Coursey says that he thinks consumers are wrong when they say they don’t trust Microsoft with their personal data. He says that he would rather trust Microsoft than a bank. Of course, I think his column misses the point. The fact is that most consumers don’t want to trust any company with all of their data. Besides, the main reason behind his argument is that Microsoft gets more scrutiny than a bank – thus we should feel safer. This seems ridiculous. Just because they get more scrutiny, doesn’t mean they’re any more trustworthy. In fact, as the anti-trust trial has shown, Microsoft doesn’t much care about the scrutiny it gets.
Comments on “Trusting Microsoft More Than A Bank”
Uh huh
Microsoft is like a bank that get’s held up once a day…
Microsoft
Hmm, there’s also one major difference between Microsoft and banks. Banks are highly regulated, and in many cases want the regulation because it increases public confidence in their products. Microsoft fights regulation and scrutiny. So, hmmm, if you HAD to pick, which would you?
I hate...
I hate my bank…but i FEAR Microsoft…
MS's Number One Fan
With some of the beauties he comes out with, Coursey is either a catalyst to get action fired up on TalkBack, or a p. r. man for the Redmond Beast itself.
More interesting is, recent TalkBack discussions (as well as TechDirt comments) re: Passport, “Would You Trust Microsoft,” etc. generate about 90% anti, 10% pro MS views from readers. Many, if not most of the comments are quite eloquently worded – not mouth-foaming rants from “f*ck Micro$oft!” types – with clear and accurate facts backing them up. I understand that ZDNet and TechDirt have not just a tech, but informed tech following, but even so; with such overwhelmingly lopsided negative v. positive views about MS, how on earth does this monster continue to thrive?
Re: MS's Number One Fan
Misanthrope: What OS do you use? Office productivity suite? How do you feel about MS?
Re: Re: MS's Number One Fan
Win95, sans IE. Existing apps for which there are no replacements, as well as compatibility issues, prohibit an all-out migration to Linux, and I don’t want a Mac. (Nothing against the Mac, it just doesn’t fit the way my head works. If I wanted Windows in the first place, I’d have bought a Mac.) Existing budget prohibits the luxury of additional hardware for a “soft transition” from one platform to the next.
Word 97/Excel 97. Compatibility with the outside world prohibits, or makes extremely inconvenient, using anything else.
MS is an out-of-control, greedy monopoly that has stifled competition – hence the first two answers. Whenever possible – browser, email client, financial software, media player – I use non-MS software. And not just to make an “anti-Redmond” statement, but because the alternative apps are usually less bloated, easier to use, more stable, and more secure. Microsoft’s success comes not from offering a superior product, but from all but killing any other options.