Microsoft on Tuesday publicly defended Windows in the face of unconfirmed reports that Google was shunning the operating system due to security concerns.
Google declined to respond to an AFP inquiry, saying only: “As a rule, we don’t comment on operational matters.”
Microsoft, however, felt that stories published in the Financial Times and elsewhere warranted a fast, firm rebuttal.
Unnamed sources at Google were quoted in the Times as saying that new hires at the US Internet colossus have been given the option of using Apple Macintosh computers or machines running on Linux open-source software.
Sanctioning moves away from Windows operating systems was described as part of a “security effort” triggered by an attack from China-based hackers that led to Google shutting down its filtered search engine in that country.
Google is also believed to be interested in shifting to a Chrome operating system it is building as a rival to Windows.
“There’s been some coverage overnight about the security of Windows and whether or not one particular company is reducing its use of Windows,” Brandon LeBlanc of Microsoft said in a blog post at the technology giant’s Web site. “We thought this was a good opportunity to set the record straight.”
LeBlanc touted Windows safeguards and noted that security concerns have also been aimed at software built by Google and Apple.
“When it comes to security, even hackers admit we’re doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else,” he said.
Separately, Canada’s privacy commissioner said Tuesday she was probing Google’s inadvertent collection of data from unsecured wireless networks as its cars photographed streetscapes for its mapping service.
“We have a number of questions about how this collection could have happened and about the impact on people’s privacy,” Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said, adding: “An investigation is the best way to find the answers.”
Google, which notified the commissioner it had been collecting and storing information broadcast via wireless networks that were not password protected, may have contravened Canada’s privacy laws, she said.
Google was asked to hand over any information collected for the investigation.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS