I love to poke holes in articles on top web sites and magazines, sometimes it’s a tough find but today I hit a jackpot (literally - won over 18k) but that’s another story. My current article challenge is the Forbes.com story titled “Apples for the Army“.

The Term “Top Secret” should be implied

Forbes.com
…you wouldn’t expect the U.S. Army to be much of a customer. Lieutenant Colonel C.J. Wallington is hoping hackers won’t expect it either.

Linux-Girl
A Hacker is perhaps, one of the most intelligent species of computer technicians in the world. I can guarantee that many of them read Forbes.com on a regular basis. So to assume that hackers, will not expect the addition of Mac’s in the army is quite amusing. They should’ve chosen to release this story to Parenting Magazine if they had hopes of keeping it a secret.

Whose Bright Idea Was This?

Forbes.com
Wallington, a division chief in the Army’s office of enterprise information systems, says the military is quietly working to integrate Macintosh computers into its systems to make them harder to hack. That’s because fewer attacks have been designed to infiltrate Mac computers, and adding more Macs to the military’s computer mix makes it tougher to destabilize a group of military computers with a single attack, Wallington says

Linux-Girl
Quietly Working while leaking information to Forbes.com! I’m assuming the Army IT department has taken into consideration that should their mainframe be compromised, it wouldn’t matter what manufacturer you buy a computer from. The entire system is down.

Turning a Negative into a Positive

Forbes.com
Though Apple machines are still pricier than their Windows counterparts, the added security they offer might be worth the cost, says Wallington. He points out that Apple’s X Serve servers, which are gradually becoming more commonplace in Army data centers, are proving their mettle. “Those are some of the most attacked computers there are. But the attacks used against them are designed for Windows-based machines, so they shrug them off,” he says.

Linux-Girl
Well no-duh Sherlock! If only Wallington would step up and believe what he’s saying, his quotes make him sound like some “wisher” hoping that his comments will not come back to haunt him. Then he sits back and he gives testimony on one of the best reasons any major entity should consider when purchasing computers or servers.

Someone Tell Charlie Miller to Die in a Fire already

Forbes.com
The marketing pitch that Apples are inherently more secure than PCs is also largely a myth, contends Miller, who gained notoriety for remotely hacking the iPhone last August. He points to data gathered by software security firm Secunia, which showed that Apple had to patch nearly five times as many security flaws in its software over the past year as Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) had to patch in Windows. Apple’s Quicktime player alone, he says, was patched 34 times. “I love my Macs, but in terms of security, they’re behind the curve, compared to Windows,” Miller warns.

Linux-Girl
Let me make this very clear Mr. Miller - the fact that Apple ACTUALLY patches it’s security flaws on a regular basis should be reason enough to go Mac over PC. Microsoft doesn’t patch as there wasn’t competition, and if a few computers went bad due to MSFT’s ignorance, it was no loss to them. Now that critical mass is ready to hit the Apple Shelves, you can be assured, that MSFT will jump up and take notice that perhaps - being more aggressive with their security flaws will make a difference in their revenue shares.

I’m not sure why Miller continues to stand behind such a flawed comment - perhaps because it was his original quote when asked by MSFT to perform the study. What Miller tends to ignore is that MSFT does not Patch regularly - a point that should be made clearly to everyone on a Windows PC.

The most intelligent paragraph in this Article

Forbes.com
But the Army’s Jonathan Broskey stands by his claims of Apple’s security: He says the high number of patches to Apple software is a good sign–evidence of the large community of developers actively working to tighten Unix programs and eliminate bugs. Nonetheless, like any responsible IT department, he says the Army’s Apple program will closely monitor security updates to Mac-specific programs. “The Army’s no different from any corporation,” he says.

Linux-Girl
A few good Apples in the Military keeps me feeling much safer on US Ground. Go Army!