Cyber Security Institute
§ Current Worries
Top 3 Worries
- Regulations
- Old Firewall Configurations
- Security Awareness
§ Listening
For the best information
- The underground
- Audible
- Executive Excellence
- Music (to keep me sane)
§ Watching
For early warnings
- 150 Security Websites
- AP Newsfeeds
- Vendors
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Microsoft Hit By U.S. DOT Ban On Windows Vista, Explorer 7, and Office 2007
Citing concerns over cost and compatibility, the top technology official at the federal Department of Transportation has placed a moratorium on all in-house computer upgrades to Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system, as well as Internet Explorer 7 and Office 2007, according to a memo obtained Friday by InformationWeek.
In a memo to his staff, the DOT’s CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed “an indefinite moratorium” on the upgrades as “there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products.
Among the concerns cited by Mintz are compatibility with software applications currently in use at the department, the cost of an upgrade, and DOT’s move to a new headquarters in Washington later this year.
“Microsoft Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer [7] may be acquired for testing purposes only, though only on approval by the DOT chief information officer,” Mintz writes.
In an interview Friday, DOT chief technology officer Tim Schmidt confirmed that the ban is still in effect. The DOT’s ban on Vista, Internet Explorer 7, and Office 2007 applies to 15,000 computer users at DOT proper who are currently running the Windows XP Professional operating system.
The memo indicates that a similar ban is in effect at the Federal Aviation Administration, which has 45,000 desktop users.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197700789