Following security concerns, the search giant Google is phasing out the use of Windows, according to employees who spoke to FT.com.

The move away from Windows comes following the hack attack carried out against the company’s China operation earlier this year.

“We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,” said one Google employee.

“Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks,” said another.

New hires are given the choice of Apple’s Mac OS X or Linux systems. Some of the new hires are being allowed to install Windows on their notebooks, while those wanting to stay on Windows on the desktop require senior level clearance.

Google refuses to comment on policy matters.

According to Google employees I’ve spoken to previously the company allowed employees to choose the OS best suited to their needs, so the banning of Windows came as a shock. That said, Mac OS X is a very popular OS within the company, and it’s likely that many will make the shift from Windows to Apple’s OS.

The question I’m pondering is this - Is this move away from Windows one grounded in security, or is the whole thing a PR stunt, with Google using Microsoft as a scapegoat for the hack attack?

Seems to me that if Google really was still using IE6, it’s in the company’s best interests to shift the focus of blame off itself (because continuing too run IE6 was a monumentally boneheaded move) and onto Microsoft.

Google moving to a Linux-based internal OS has been on the cards for some time, according to my contacts. After all, so much of Google’s business runs on open-source software that it doesn’t make sense for the desktop OS to be proprietary … so it might not be long till the company give Mac OS the boot too.

Wins for Apple (for now) and Linux, big loss for Microsoft.

https://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/google-dumps-windows-for-mac-os-and-linux/8462