Today, 'spin' seems to direct more public thinking than ever before. Marketing and spin (check out this article - http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3752 ) are used
more than ever to direct thinking in a specific pattern, and direct public action. Is this the reason children are being taught lesser self-reliance in schools now? Big brother - is it slowly becoming reality?
Browsing the web, I chanced across an article that said Microsoft puts out patches quicker than any other OS vendor, and hence, MS users face much lesser risk - they even measured it using a new measurement they called "days at risk". This set me thinking. Sure, MS may release patches faster - but :
Do all users always patch everything the moment the patch is released?
Why has no one compared the number of times each OS vendor patches their patches?
For each vendor, what product needs the patch each time?
Which vendor has a much-used popular product that needs patches?
Does anyone have any measured statistics on the relation between the software needing patches and its popularity, use and misuse?
If these numbers are available , how can we as the 'hopeful' guardians of cyber-integrity link these numbers to such articles that present a lop-sided view of the situation? Growing up, I learnt about 'lies, damned lies and statistics'.
Some interesting links on thinking about lies, statistics and lawyers - when will marketing and sales be added to this roll?
http://www.experts.com/showArticle.asp?id=153
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/inside-nevada-politics/2006/09/tarkanian-refutes-lies.html
http://weblog.leidenuniv.nl/users/gillrd/2007/06/lies_damned_lies_and_legal_truths_1.php
So ho will teach the world common sense again?
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