Tipping point of the scale

My neighbourhood can go either way. Either the booms come down, the whole thing goes to hell and I move, probably at a loss. Or they stay up and I build a loft and stay for five more years until it becomes too small. I choose not to take the whole thing too personally, and besides, I have more choices than some, a realisation that generally makes life a pretty easy ride, as long as you don`t ever expect to feel secure.

I`ve lately become aware of similar situations in other areas of my life. Wherever you look, the horizon is just rife with variable outcomes. Things either go north or south, this influences other things, and on and on it goes. One has to shrug and await clarity.

Which brings me to the leaks of Windows source code in past weeks. It has a lot of people guessing, and the only thing I can say when listening to all of it is that, sure, the possibilities are endless, each of them potentially earth-shattering, and we should look at them all. But isn`t it exciting, being in the middle of such huge change in the history of technology?

I should add by way of explaining what might look like a frivolous statement by saying, firstly, that I think the Chinese "curse" has come true, and we do indeed live in interesting times. Secondly, they`re interesting because Microsoft`s security nightmares (increased, faster attacks, botched patches, 200-day patch delays, and now, leaked code) coincide with the rising spectre of open source alternatives and, believe it or not, ever more clued-up consumers. And while everyone but Microsoft will find this a blessing rather than a curse, I should add also that this is not a case of delighting in the company`s trouble. If anyone can come out of this, Microsoft can.

The most immediate reaction about the leak came from security types who shout: "The booms have come down! Oh, help us!" Of course, I agree that it`s possible the whole thing may just go down the tubes, what with millions using the same software across the world, but isn`t there solace in a greater truth somewhere?

I`ll tell you right away that the solace wasn`t to be found in Microsoft`s first assurance that nobody had been affected yet.

I think the Chinese "curse" has come true, and we do indeed live in interesting times.

Carel Alberts, Journalist, ITWeb

The leak also dispelled any notions I may have had about the value of secrecy in security. In other developments, Microsoft has generally relied on its friends in the security community to keep it informed about vulnerabilities, sometimes swearing them to secrecy "to protect customers". But this has lately irked eEye Digital Security, which complained of Microsoft`s tardiness - almost a seven-month wait to have its hole fixed.

So secrecy in that case didn`t really help security; in fact, it probably gave the vendor too much time to fix things. So one shouldn`t be overly scared, this observation seems to suggest, about leaked code. If hackers have been throwing all they could at Microsoft for years, what more can openness reveal about the software?

It`s a dangerous assumption to say "nothing". So I don`t take much comfort in either secrecy or openness.

As in the case of eEye Digital Security, which finally revealed Microsoft`s long wait to fix its software, has Microsoft lost the patience of security firms, perhaps also, as some suggest, the hearts and minds of developers? And is this indicative of a mood-swing in the greater world of buying software?

As regards the last point, I think Microsoft has been criticised long enough to say that the groundswell of dissent is gathering steam. Might it win the support of its users (and developers) back?

I will refrain from comment on this next issue, since I don`t know if it`s true, but open source advocates helpfully argue that the spill could be the best thing for Microsoft yet, since leaked code and at least partial opening of its source code will help win over developers again, who the open source movement says have pledged their loyalty to it.

But I wouldn`t be so smug about things if I were them. The dangers of taking a peek at source code are considerable. Still, file sharers are looking at it in their thousands, and all coders may yet fall victim to the taint by association. Perhaps most at risk, comments one lawyer quoted by eWeek, is Linux, which is built on the trust among contributors that no one has breached other software copyrights in their work. "The opportunity to give Microsoft an enormous hammer over the open source community is just waiting there," he said.

But I wouldn`t kill myself worrying about it. The only consolation will be that it may yet all prove to be very instructive indeed.