How Can Any Company Ever Trust Microsoft Again?

It's a sign of just how... {ahem} ... generous... general news coverage of Microsoft has been, that the question can be (must be?) phrased that way, with a straight face.

It is not news until the people who report the news are bitten in the a**!

Frankly I never trusted Microsoft, not from day one! That's one reason why none of my personal computers or servers has seen the OS since I made the permanent switch to Linux and FOSS over a decade ago.

And yet, I've met many an IT 'expert' who blindly parrots the pro-MS line.

What personally troubles me is my profession (Accounting. Wait! Don't fall asleep yet!). As you may imagine, we deal every day in very private information. Confidentiality is paramount.

Where will the legal liability lie when it is revealed that the ultimate source of released proprietary information is a CPA's Windows-based system?

There is a very real threat that this s#!@t's about to get real.

> Where will the legal liability lie when it is revealed that the ultimate source of released proprietary information is a CPA's Windows-based system?

Legally? The CPA. Now, the CPA can then sue Microsoft for lying about their product, but...

Quoting:Legally? The CPA. Now, the CPA can then sue Microsoft for lying about their product, but...

My point exactly. And I can't be the only one who has figured this out.

An individual with less than ethical intentions could cause a lot of harm (financial and otherwise) to my profession. And the harm will devastate many a career. . . all due to laziness on MS's part and user ignorance of the dangers (due, in no small part, to concerted efforts at keeping this information hidden).

To an accountant, CPA or otherwise, reputation is everything. Lose that, and you lose your livelihood.

> To an accountant, CPA or otherwise, reputation is everything. Lose that, and you lose your livelihood.

Ah yes, the meteoric fall of Arthur Anderson springs instantly to mind.