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German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

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Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#91

Post by xrisk »

axegon_ wrote: post #19
badRNG wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many countries are currently ditching Windows in favor of home grown distros due to distrust of Microsoft. Notable examples: Currently transitioning: - Astra Linux (Russia) https://www.zdnet.com/article/russian-military-moves-closer-... - Kylin Linux? (China) https://www.techradar.com/news/china-to-ditch-all-windows-pc... - South Korea https://www.zdnet.com/article/south-koreas-government-explor... Already transition…

Yeah, aware of those... But... I wouldn't really use most of the countries on your list to set an example for the rest of the world, if you know what I mean...

[flagged]

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#92

Post by corty »

jandrese wrote: post #65
chrisseaton wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the big deal about AD? A directory of your employees? What's so important about that? (I don't work in corporate IT I genuinely don't know.)

AD allows admins to apply policy (settings) to every machine in the organization at once. And to make sure the users don't change them. The policies cover pretty much everything, and can be applied as strictly or loosely as you want. There really isn't an equivalent for Linux. You can set up Linux equivalents for bits and pieces of it, but the all in one solution that you can just drop down on the network and hand ov…

AD for settings is a very poor replacement for what puppet or ansible enable on Unixoids.

Also, AD is becoming less comprehensive on windows, later versions of many MS packages require powershell and textual config additionally or solely. Not to speak of third-party software where AD group policy support was always spotty at best.

Yes, easy clicky setup is possible with AD, but your software options are severely limited, not even exchange is point&click-only nowadays

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#93

Post by zelly »

motohagiography wrote: post #67

Software is culture, and when you move users from a middle-manager and bureaucracy-centric platform like Windows to a problem-solving power-tools platform like a Linux, it's going to change the culture of the organization. For the better I think, but the people this disadvantages will dig in hard.

You're right, Linux is a problem-solving power-tool. X11 breaks, you now have a problem to solve. Your hardware will only work with a proprietary driver that breaks on every kernel update--that's another problem to solve. What it means to use Linux is to become really good at solving problems.

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#94

Post by dragonwriter »

hitpointdrew wrote: post #85
dunefox wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it does. I don't want to have city documents in some cloud.

> city documents You realize that AWS/AZURE ect. all have GOVERNMENT contracts right? They have special infrastructure and portals just for government customers.

> They have special infrastructure and portals just for government customers.

The special infrastructure is for users subject to certain federal government data rules, which isn't coextensive with “government customers”. Most government use of cloud services from the big public cloud vendors is exactly the public commercial offering. Most government data is, both legally and practically, less protected than HIPAA PHI, which both government and non-government customers use commercial cloud offerings for.

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#95

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

rgblambda wrote: post #50
jtdev wrote: post #31

I can't believe that Microsoft is still charging for Windows licenses... convoluted licensing is in fact is one of the primary reasons that I've moved away from Microsoft products and services.

For individual users who don't mind a small watermark on the screen ,the inability to change their desktop background, or the inability to join the windows insider program, it effectively is free. Granted, this doesn't apply to orgs. But yeah I don't see why they still charge for Home Edition licences. Surely the focus should be on keeping people using Windows. It probably makes sense in the short term to charge but…

> Surely the focus should be on keeping people using Windows

My impression from years of working with Windows 10 is that large parts of Microsoft actually would prefer that people stop using Windows. Windows is a personal computer operating system, which means that the user is in control of it, and the modern tech world abhors that notion. Case in point: they spent years trying to force updates with no user input.

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#96

Post by foepys »

utkarsh_apoorva wrote: post #52
Aardwolf wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slashdot, 2001: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/01/10/16/1525231/german-par... And 2006: https://slashdot.org/story/06/10/28/226211/munich-migrating-...

Ahh... I thought this was the first ever instance. So Munich goes open source -> Hamburg gets inspired and BAM - 14 years later it follows suit.

Munich went full Windows again after a new mayor got elected who went straight to criticizing LiMux (Munich's Linux distro) and pushed to adopt Windows within his first weeks. A few months after the decision had been made, Microsoft relocated their German headquarters from Hamburg to Munich.

Projected costs for the switch back: 86.5 million Euro within the first six years.

A study by the city revealed that LiMux saved the city 10 million Euro over its lifetime.

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#97

Post by DarkmSparks »

rb808 wrote: post #71
trekrich wrote: post #23

Makes you wonder if Microsoft had conducted them selves better with Windows 10, then they might not have been looking at doing this. Windows 10 has been a total mess.

source?

most anyone with first hand experience of windows 10?

absolutely everyone who has used any of the alternatives for more than a few days.

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#99

Post by Wh1zz »

xrisk wrote: post #91
axegon_ wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, aware of those... But... I wouldn't really use most of the countries on your list to set an example for the rest of the world, if you know what I mean...

[flagged]

See general state of development/corruption for all ex-soviet countries versus the rest of the developed world.

Re: German city wants to ditch Microsoft for Linux

#100

Post by bitcharmer »

madballster wrote: post #64

IIRC, the initial Munich Linux Project ("Limux") from 2004 I think was somewhat of a failure. They spent millions migrating dozens of different Windows applications, but found that certain offices (e.g. the land registry) kept using Windows applications for obscure hard-to-replace services and databases, leading to friction. Later they rolled back then entire migration just to re-announce a new Linux migration more r…

It failed in huge part due to Microsoft's dirty tactics:

https://lwn.net/Articles/737818/

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