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[FYI] Why Microsoft 'Shared Source' can never be trusted



<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/36308.html>

Why Microsoft 'Shared Source' can never be trusted

By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco

Posted: 17/03/2004 at 03:30 GMT
 
Yesterday we recounted the tale of how at the height of the Cold War 
Soviet infrastructure had been penetrated by software containing 
Trojans. Retired spook and nuclear scientist Thomas Reed claims that 
the United States provided compromised software to the USSR which 
detonated the Trans-Siberian gas pipeline. The Cold War's over, but 
we suggested that without an open toolchain - unless users could also 
inspect the source code for the tools used to build the OS - 
initiatives such as Microsoft's Shared Source program are worthless 
PR exercises.

But that's not quite right, as a few of you have pointed out. So 
let's correct that. Even with an open toolchain, initiatives such as 
Microsoft's Shared Source program are worthless PR exercises.

[...]


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