[airspirit]

Mistake on your part: update pushes by servers are done in many places on some massive networks. Since the process can be automated very easily this is a non-issue. It is as simple as having a network mounted package directory (for multiple software platforms you just need to set up a simple database that lists any special needs per machine and/or group) and set up a script that logs to each client in turn and does a push binary install. Of course there are are better ways to do it, but that's a method even a moron couldn't screw up assuming he even wrote the script. One compile (or five if you have an abnormally number of platforms and want to do more than a generic x86 compile) and ten thousand installs ... no problem there. It sure beats the hell out of running windows update on them all and searching for patches for all the individual software products on each individual machine (or using automated update pushes ... which is essentially the same thing, though you're still screwed on the software side).

As for account management and such, have you ever used Linux before? Distributed account management and location transparency is the easiest thing in the world to do. I can log in to my account from any linux box in the building as if I was at my workstation ... no problems there, and I don't have to do anything beyond selecting the username in the menu ... nothing special. I can also manage any other account from anywhere on the network. All you need to do is set up a network mount for your /home directory and you're golden. It would seem you forgot that the *nixes are all natively multiuser and network based operating systems (with the exception of retarded packages like lindows) ....

I don't think you know what you're talking about, or have been advised by ignorant people (microsoft propaganda sheets fall into this category). I'm betting on the latter ... you can't really be held to task if you've been taught [this word's spelling is freaking me out] wrong (which is why I pity the fashionalbe leftists in our colleges rather than drag them down main street by my bumper).

I tell you what, for an obscenely large retainer I'd relocate and hook you guys up, lol.

As for emulating the API: I don't see anything perverse about it. If the software is there, why not make it useful? At least it gives a crossover (much like x86-64 will during the inevitable 64 bit transition) until software houses can start writing for linux. If they wrote for it in the first place there would be no need for emulation at all. In the end, either software houses will magically decide to code for linux while the userbase is low or there will be near-perfect emulation causing the tide to swing to linux that way. Either way would lead to serious problems for Microsoft, though I don't think the former option has a prayer of working (focusing on games in particular).

edit: when I was talking security ignorance, I was referring to the difference in the network protocols and such, not trivial things like account management. I'm sorry I didn't clarify that.