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Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

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Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#201
post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a story yesterday[1] how the policy inside Google is to cc their legal department on any emails that you think could make the company look bad in any future legal proceedings. As I understand it, this shields the email from discovery. Did you have similar guidelines inside Microsoft? [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30760923

> As I understand it, this shields the email from discovery. LOL that's NOT how discovery works

Them, a brilliant Google executive: "They cannot arrest a husband and wife for the same crime."

Me, a low-level employee: "Yeah, I don't think that that's true, Dad."

Them: "I have the worst [expletive] lawyers."

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#203

If a government organization would want to use a Linux, how hard would it actually be? Is it a viable alternative?

I don't think govs are different from your average company.

Having a Linux based business is hard, for a few reasons:

- Destkop Linux sucks

- You need experienced sysadmins. There is no Linux equivalent to AD / Azure AD in terms of simplicity, as far as I know. Also true for other stuff like app management.

- User resistance, as few people use Linux as their daily OSes

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#204
post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

meh. I'd be happy to sit in a chair and watch nonsensical videos for $100/hr any time you like.

Not when you have a deadline and your stuff is behind, you don't :-) Happily, it was better than that. Most of these courses were online, and you could just let the videos of actors working through scenarios run in the background and then answer some simple questions. The questions never varied and the correct answer was usually pretty obvious (e.g., don't pick any answer that includes hiding a body).

Also it's not like you can fail the test, it just keeps you on the question till you select the right answer.

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#205

If a government organization would want to use a Linux, how hard would it actually be? Is it a viable alternative?

I spent 7 years working with digitalisation in the Danish public sector and it depends on what you mean, and what you want to pay for it. Basically the short answer is that it is impossible.

What is often forgotten about non-tech enterprise here on HN is that a typical public sector organisation has a ratio of 20-50 IT people (this is everyone, from the network and operations people to developers and project managers) per 10.000 employees in organisation where almost every employee uses some form of IT system to perform their duty.

Some users will not be capable of telling you if they are on an iOS or Android devices, and almost all of them know Microsoft Office and Outlook because that is what every place they have ever worked and will ever work uses. Or to frame it differently, the change management and retraining of 10000 employees is going to crush you, very, very quickly. On top of that your IT staff is certified and trained with Microsoft technologies, and most of them are likely happy about that to the point where they will leave your organisation if you push them toward Linux.

That is the employees. There is also the technology, and all the IT systems that only works on windows and have no competitors. This can be everything from your million dollar MRI machine to the dentist program (dentists are part of the public sector in Denmark). Cutting ties with Microsoft completely, would mean you’d need someone to develop alternatives to these things. (Yes, your million dollar MRI machine shouldn’t depend on windows XP, but it does).

So obviously it’s not impossible, nothing is, it’s just really, really, expensive. It’s so expensive that it will likely be it would be political suicide because the money you need to pay for the transition is going to come from firing nurses, school teachers, and other primary functions.

That being said, a lot of public sector organisations do take open source seriously. Especially here in Europe. But there isn’t a clean way to cut ties with Microsoft, and it’s actually become harder and harder. Because where is the Linux alternative to office365?

Disclaimer: I consider Microsoft to be the best external business partner that I’ve worked with while I was in the public sector.

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#206
post #203

If a government organization would want to use a Linux, how hard would it actually be? Is it a viable alternative?

I don't think govs are different from your average company. Having a Linux based business is hard, for a few reasons: - Destkop Linux sucks - You need experienced sysadmins. There is no Linux equivalent to AD / Azure AD in terms of simplicity, as far as I know. Also true for other stuff like app management. - User resistance, as few people use Linux as their daily OSes

I wonder if we will see a push from Google with chrome os.

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#207

If a government organization would want to use a Linux, how hard would it actually be? Is it a viable alternative?

Didn't Germany at one point, try to do this? I'm not sure if they still are using Linux.

Also certain Chinese agencies are most definitely using custom distros.

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#208

If a government organization would want to use a Linux, how hard would it actually be? Is it a viable alternative?

I spent 7 years working with digitalisation in the Danish public sector and it depends on what you mean, and what you want to pay for it. Basically the short answer is that it is impossible. What is often forgotten about non-tech enterprise here on HN is that a typical public sector organisation has a ratio of 20-50 IT people (this is everyone, from the network and operations people to developers and project managers…

How many native windows apps are being used?

It sounds like it's always gonna be a messy migration, but I wonder if you can somewhat simplify it by moving all users to web apps? Basically as an intermediate transition step to first decouple usage from the underlying OS.

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds right to me. In fact that’s one of the main reasons why we have different nations and borders in the first place. We should not assume our WEIRD values are universal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology#WEIRD_bias

> In fact that’s one of the main reasons why we have different nations and borders in the first place. I'm not so sure about that. We have different cultures, to be sure, and certainly different governments to which we pledge allegiance, each with limited reach. But the modern concept of statehood and universally-recognized, clearly-delineated borders is a relatively new phenomenon, dating only back to the 20th centu…

But I don’t think this refutes the notion that ethics and morals are not universal.

Sure, rigid borders are relatively new but I don’t think we should get bogged down in terminology. Maybe I should have said “government” instead of nation and “territory” instead of “borders”.

Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes

#210

Former Microsoftie here. After all the business ethics training videos I had to sit through, I am infuriated by this.

Those annual trainings are there to show compliance. This prevents pro active investigations by authorities into business conduct. Without those corporations are free to engage in all kinda of shady business behaviour. And when something turns sideways, the offending employees passed the training, so the company is shielded, to an extend.

Exactly - all they are is formal "risk mitigation"
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