[21]

Yeah, it's called "install the latest kernel".

Upgrading to a new version of Windows was apparently not possible, which also means that upgrading to a new Linux version would also have been out of the books.

So the only solution would have been to hire someone to backport whatever fix was needed.

[devrandomguy]

An open source update can be audited much more easily than a closed source update. It is also usually possible, with OSSW, to find the discussion where the software's developers proposed various solutions, and debated their merits and risks.