Why Obama gives geeks hope

For the first time in years, the Mac has been widely publicised as being used in a governmental setting. For the Mac community, this can only mean great things are afoot, regardless of the technology choices made by the new administration in the long run.

Indeed, while it is no secret that governments and governmental agencies have dabbled in Mac OS X for years, few users would have thought the system capable of managing confidential information at such a level, not so much because the platform is incapable of it, but because it "wasn't done."

Over the past few months, we have seen a presidential candidate successfully use Mac OS X to run a sensitive operation, all the way to the White House. It's a shame they did not use iPhones while they were at it, but, after all, one shouldn't dream too much. That, in itself, sent a strong message that no advertising campaign could ever have sent.

With Macs in the White House, Mac OS X becomes a much more interesting platform to attack and overthrow. After all, who wouldn't like a peek at the president's emails? Certainly, the choice of platform is still apparently in the balance, but, if the buzz around the web is to be believed, Macs hold a serious chance of making a rather noted entry within the walls of power.

Were it to be the case — fingers crossed —, I have high hopes for our platform. Indeed, while Apple can blissfully ignore the cries of millions of users clamouring for security improvements, they can hardly ignore governmental institutions asking for the same thing. Well, yes, they could, but it would make very little sense, especially now that the company has shown, discretely but unmistakably, that they are, in fact, serious about security, despite their pretending not to care at all for some obscure and maddening reason.

This is also good news for third-party vendors, like PGP, who have an extra incentive to release security tools for our platform. While I doubt FileVault could secure the president's computer, something like PGP Whole Disk Encryption seems to be more appropriate. When an administration adopts a technology, its providers tend to do so, trickling down the chain into the enterprise market, PGP's sweet love.

Will Mac OS X hold the future of the United States in its hands? Maybe not just yet. It is, however, a serious contender for what seems to be the first time ever. That, alone, give me Hope.

As an aside, please do not see this message as a political statement. All that matters to me here is the technology aspect, regardless of the President's ideas or doings, the discussion of which does not belong on this particular blog.