Microsoft & Intel: The Bean Counters Are ‘Doing the Math’

We are in the midst of more than an economic slowdown. We are also in the midst of a technology slowdown; and, if you think critically about it, a loss of discernment by the public at large.

It is as if many have simply been lulled to sleep by the mass marketers, waking up only when informed it is necessary. It carries over into almost every facet of daily life.

Has anyone ever asked, “If all the problems with the economy are caused by a lack of confidence, why don’t we (as a nation) decide to (confidently) move forward?”

I didn’t think so.

This morning I see that many stories are asking the reader to suspend disbelief about things that do matter. In an unusual instance of an article from ZDNet Asia showing up on ZDNet Main, there is an announcement from Intel, asking small to medium enterprises not to forsake the upgrade cycle, simply because of a supposed security factor. that security factor cites newer operating systems, which are  ostensibly more secure.

Figures for maintenance versus upgrade costs are thrown around, yet no show of the security differences have ever been shown, as far as I know. This is another of the ‘boogie man in the closet’ scenarios, where the very worst case circumstances are given, yet, no shows of the very worst case events occurring are shown.

My point is this – I don’t do anything with the machine I use to write this article  that corporate users don’t do, or should be doing. The machine takes very little effort to keep in perfect running shape, and, if I was maintaining it as part of an installation of a bevy of similar (hopefully identical) machines, much more of the maintenance would be automated.

The machine uses Windows XP SP3, it has an antivirus solution (Avira) and a firewall (Comodo Firewall Pro w/ HIPS+ features enabled). I have gone so far as to download some questionable stuff, to see if the machine could become infected. Unless I do something very stupid, nothing causes problems. Both Avira and Comodo are free, and update themselves as needed.

How would a move to Vista, or Windows 7 be any more efficacious in reducing costs?

So – the Intel paean for upgrading is shown, after a closer inspection, to be merely profit driven, having little to do with the described purpose of increasing security, or reducing costs over time.  The bean counters are able to weave a tale in the same manner as any other accounting drone. Also, in that same vein, the old saw ‘Figures don’t lie, but any liar can figure” holds true. I can, if you are not keen on the laws of algebra, show you a very convincing proof that 1 = 0, and if you don’t watch carefully, the step-by-step production of proof will astound and mystify. Accountants (bean counters) can be very astute about these magic productions – which is what Intel produces in the above article.

Thus, I have confidence that if money is spent on new computers that feature Intel processors and Microsoft software, the fortunes of Microsoft and Intel will increase. This does not necessarily translate into confidence that the company spending the money on the upgrades will enjoy increases in profits, due to the proposed actions.

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