They stumble that run fast

As you'll read in my bio, I work at a large company.  I've been a system administrator, an application administrator, a network administrator, etc.  I'm also a security analyst who must track vulnerabilities in a lot of technologies.  Maybe that explains why I don't see the Zune debacle as anything special. I've got lots of stories of time-based system failures.

Several UNIX versions were ill prepared to handle the changed beginning of the end of Daylight's Savings Time this last fall.  Lots of terrible impacts predicted, but we muddled through it. 

System time is a very, very fragile construct that has big impacts.  Time-sensitive jobs don't spawn.  Logs may not record well.  If mega UNIX systems have issues, do we expect Zune to be spared?

So I don't buy the analysis that throws rocks at Microsoft while neglecting other vendors and their foibles.  And I don't think blaming DRM is necessarily a reasoned approach.  Afterall, if a system is used for websites and if a website has a certificate used for SSL, there will be problems if system time is tinkered with uncontrollably.  Ever try to restart a website that has an 'expired' certificate?  Indeed, how many signed apps run on your PC or mobile clients?  What happens when their certificates are expired artifically?

No, system time is a very special component of overall security.  Don't like the system logs?  Alter the time or time zone and thereby so confuse the record that few conclusions can be reached.

I like my Zune, paid good money for it (but not nearly as much as my iPod Photo 'back in the day').  Is Zune perfect?  Obviously not.  But is it a decent media player?  Sure is. 

If your Zune is such a Piece of Software (I think this is what POS stands for), please advertise it below for $25/US.  I'm sure you'll find some foolish person willing to pay all that for something that is obviously no good.  You might have to pay shipping though.

Or maybe you'll trade me your Zune for my iBook battery that would burst into flames, maybe trade for my Mac drives that would go into stiction mode from time to time?  Or maybe some Dell parts I have find your interest? No, all equipment and all software have issues from time to time.  

jt