Microsoft issues its biggest-ever security fix

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1220677620101012

by chanux • 16 years ago

15 10 16 years ago

code_duck2• 16 years ago

I'm still not sure how to feel about usage of the word geek in the mainstream press, such as 'The geeks who report such vulnerabilities to software makers are known as "white hat" hackers.'

sliverstorm• 16 years ago

What on earth is wrong with it? It's minimally perjorative, relatively accurate, and covers a wide swath of people. Better than any other term they've used that I've seen.

Think of the ichthyologists. I'm sure they like it when people call them ichthyologists, but most of the world has no idea what exactly that is and how it's different, so in the news we just call them scientists or biologists.

shin_lao• 16 years ago

You could also say "persons" or "people".

InclinedPlane• 16 years ago

The mainstream press cares more about the terminology they use for describing terrorists than they do about the words they use for security researchers.

Groxx4• 16 years ago

When the icthyologists also gain a history of being circus freaks and get a more general term applied to them - say, "nerd" - then it would be a similar term.

Personally, I don't find it offensive, but there are plenty of people who have had it applied to them offensively who could. It's still a charged word - give it another decade or two.

code_duck2• 16 years ago

It sounds pejorative and a bit belittling in this instance. It doesn't sound professional, and it makes the security researchers sound unprofessional. How about calling them 'computer experts'?

Groxx4• 16 years ago

>Microsoft addresses record 49 flaws in its software

The number matters? Read the changelogs for some software; you can see hundreds of "flaws" fixed between some minor revisions.

How does one measure "flaws" anyway? Buggy LOC (in the millions)? Things which can be fixed atomically, without interacting with each other? Files which have binary patches applied? Binary patch chunks? The number is worthless! If anything higher numbers are worse, because it means they likely sat on some while others were being worked on.

Microsoft issues its biggest-ever security fix

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