Microsoft Analyzed Linux and Mac OS X Tiger When Building Windows Vista

Microsoft has admitted to having observed what the competition has to offer, and integrated the lessons learned into the development of Window Vista. For Microsoft, when it was building Windows Vista, the grass was greener on the other side of the operating system's kernel. And the Redmond Company was not shy at getting some inspiration from several Linux versions and Mac OS X Tiger.

But the scenario is not as bad as it might seem. As a matter of fact, this does not fall under the "Redmond start your photocopiers" messages that Apple saw fit to address Microsoft on numerous occasions. But still...

Just to be clear, Microsoft has recently made available for download the Security Enhancements in Windows Vista, highlighting the evolution of user protection in its latest operating system. And on page nine of the article Microsoft confessed: "Microsoft's in-depth analysis of vulnerabilities in Windows XP, several Linux versions, and Mac OS X Tiger has provided a solid context in which to view the first 90 days of Windows Vista."

As a matter of fact what Microsoft did was to evaluate the mistakes performed by its adversaries when developing Linux and Mac OS X. By analyzing various Linux distributions and Mac OS X Tiger, Microsoft wanted to ensure that it would not repeat the code errors and the sources of vulnerabilities affecting the non-Windows platforms.

Windows XP is the underdog in terms of the security level it delivered in comparison to Linux and Mac OS X Tiger. This is both true from the perspective of customer perception and from the data resulted from statistics related to vulnerabilities and exploits. By confirming the analysis of Linux and Mac OS X Tiger, Microsoft acknowledges Vista's superiority in security. After all, Windows Vista is the most secure Windows Platform to date.