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NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

nhsbuntu.org

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Re: NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

#51
The video is slick-ish, but we've seen it before. How many healthcare professionals (doctor, nurses etc.) were asked? Simply throwing a new OS at the problem doesn't solve things without the end users input or without an real understanding of the issues that they and the sys admins face. Also, the cost of hiring staff to maintain and manage is higher and retraining would be a massive cost too. "Just use linux[0]" is almost the same in this instance as saying "you're holding it wrong".

[0] It's really all the site and video say...

Re: NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

#52
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you do about legacy software? Porting all the crap they're currently using to a new operating system isn't free.

Yeah, and I mean this without a drop of sarcasm or joking. That's where being one of the richest countries on earth comes in. We should just pay up.

> We should just pay up.

I'd say it'd be a very solid investment. If it's made open-source and some attention is dedicated to build a community and a vendor ecosystem around it, it'll save the NHS and many other similar organizations everywhere a huge amount of money.

Re: NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

#53
post #49
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trying to solve windows specific issues using windows solutions has a tendency to not work very well. Once you get accustomed, administration of a linux park is far easier. Try to avoid dependencies from these piles of crap.

But there isn't good alternative for client operating system. The best you can do use devops tools, but you can tell they're really built for server deployments.

Why do you think they don't work?

Re: NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

#54
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The NSH simply states that Linux drivers will be provided and supported by the Vendor or no sale. This is not hard.

But what about the billions of pounds worth of existing equipment?

What about it? The money has been spent. Its not either or.

Also https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFalla...

Re: NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

#55
Look at what Scientific Linux did - as I recall, they didn't like the changes that RHEL did (backend for OpenSSL) so they did their own respin.

THAT is what they need for the NHS, and any other industry that needs a really long support period.

RHEL gives ~10 years support, the MRI scanners etc need at least 15. On top of that, the customers also need guarantees that the vendors of the MRI scanners or whatever will keep up with this.

So - no more of using whatever library you like, or php extension - it's a case of - this is the base OS, build it on that.

This is a fuckup on so many levels - the vendors, the NHS for not giving a shit, the government for not mandating an open solution. The one I can't blame, for once, is Microsoft - they're supported XP for 13 years, thats enough.

Re: NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

#56
post #9

I do think running hospitals on Linux is a good idea. However just sticking a skin over $YOUR_FAVORITE_DISTRO may not quite work. Hospitals have to work with proprietary devices -- for example, retinal scanners etc, many of which only have Windows drivers. Also, while updating individual Linux systems is easy, patching Linux at scale across the thousands of desktops in the NHS needs a proper, thought-out patching str…

The NSH simply states that Linux drivers will be provided and supported by the Vendor or no sale. This is not hard.

I love the optimism but that's not what happens when IT services get outsourced to tender. The process is almost exactly the same. MOD, NHS, Schools, Councils, you name it.

Firstly, tender bids have prerequisites on their bidders. You need to be on the "preferred provider" list. Security checked. Higher-level security vetted. DBS. Etc. This is the sort of stuff that stops small local companies getting in.

That means lack of competition and that means —as well as the price being 10-20× that in the natural market— that vendors have all the power when it comes to detail negotiation. They spec out the cheapest, easiest option for them, not what's best for the customer.

If the customer (a lowly NHS trust or CCG) turns around and says "no Linux, no sale" they'll offer a [much] higher price for the open system, or just say no. All three vendors that responded do the same. Windows remains.

This will only be solved when CCGs start working together and start in-housing some of this development work. But it's still apparently better to spunk £50M over HP for some dodgy tablets that don't work than hiring a team of (eg) 40 developers for 10 years. That sort of developer time, working on site, you could actually start to fix things.

But now I'm being optimistic. A Tory government in-house something when their mates own shares in HP? Not likely.

Re: NHSbuntu – an OS for the NHS [video]

#58
Hi, I'm one of the founders of NHSbuntu. Thanks for making a thread on Hacker News about us, we really feel like we've made it!

Just to reassure people who maybe think because of the timing of our launch that we had something to do with the recent NHS Cyber Attacks, it was just an unfortunate coincidence.

I'm an NHS doctor and the rest of the team are NHS tech specialists, including a Technical Architect and a CIO. We've no interest in ransoming the NHS, but we did want to disruptively highlight the non-Microsoft OS options available.

We know the name NHSbuntu is a bit stupid, for several reasons, but (for the target audience) in 8 characters it does explain what we're trying to do fairly concisely. Neither Canonical or the NHS Brand Police seem particularly upset by it, so that's a good sign. Maybe in the future we'll have to change to something more suitable.

Anyone wanting to get involved please join in at www.nhsbuntu.org (we have a Slack team and a forum) - we are trying to build a team of contributors.

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