Another Reason Open Source is Better: No Abandonware
Terry Porter
a good answer ...
Adapted From: WordNet 2.0 Copyright 2003 by Princeton University. All
rights reserved.
infeasible
A adjective
impracticable, infeasible, unfeasible, unworkable
not capable of being carried out or put into practice; "refloating the
sunken ship proved impracticable because of its fragility";
begin{quote}
There are many good reasons for choosing open source over proprietary
software, notably the freedom it gives you, and the security that comes
from allowing anyone to look for bugs.
Here's an amazing example of what by contrast can happen with closed
source in this regard:
Microsoft took the unusual step today and skipped patching one of the
vulnerabilities addressed in its monthly security update, saying that
crafting a fix was "infeasible."
The omission leaves users running Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 4
(SP4) vulnerable to attack.
Earlier today, Microsoft delivered five critical updates that patched
eight vulnerabilities in Windows, including one that the company won't
bother fixing in Windows 2000 Server SP4. The operating system's support
doesn't end until July 2010; until then, Microsoft was supposed to
provide updates.
This is extraordinary: it means that Windows 2000 becomes abandonware –
no longer fully supported by its manufacturer, and left with a critical
security flaw that makes it pretty much unusable in many circumstances.
Contrast this with open source. Even if a company providing support for
GNU/Linux decided not to provide a patch for an old version, end-users
always have the option of writing one themselves, or paying a third-party
to do it.
Now, that may not be totally satisfactory, but at least you have that
possibility. Not with Windows 2000: Microsoft has decided not to patch
that flaw, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it...apart
from junking it, and moving to an operating system that puts the user in
control.
end{quote}
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