Plus, if countries moving off Microsoft put a fraction of the savings into libre office product development, it might get an even more lopsided comparison!
Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
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Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#12Not sure about goverment requirements, but many apps I use nowadays are on the web, Figma, Canva, google docs, outlook and so on. There is not much need for a dedicated OS for most users.
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#13The correct choice, in my opinion, would be to invest in a new EU_Office project that uses the Microsoft XML formats. If you're trying to run your government on a new platform, that would also be a hedge against TDF pulling in a direction you don't want: an "independent self-governing meritocratic entity" has possible failure modes that need to go on the risk register.
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#14Linux and open source software are a good alternative for personal usage, but for government usage, wouldn’t they have to port every custom software they have built over decades to Linux? Not to mention driver support for legacy/custom hardware. Also, from where would they get the support and guarantee that critical bugs and issues are patched and distributed without disruption to every single computer in time?
Replacing MS office would be the easiest and what’s the point of migrating away from MS Office while still using Windows eco system? Is it just political symbolic migration because they don’t have anything better to do with tax payers money?
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#15Do migrations like this get easier each time? With prior art being available, and an ecosystem and pipeline starts to form around the new norm.
Every organization has their own hacks, bespoke tools, processes and hardware that has to be painstakingly replaced, reprogrammed and users retrained. In many cases, Linux alternatives don't exist so they either have to be written or processes/hardware replaced.
These are OLD organizations and none of them is really the same as any other. Legendarily, companies like SAP made their whole fortunes managing this kind of complexity.
It's just a lot of work with a lot of edge cases you've never thought of (or seen in your life) that takes years.
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#16I’m always surprised to see how naive people are when comparing the enterprise/government usage of software vs. Personal usage. Linux and open source software are a good alternative for personal usage, but for government usage, wouldn’t they have to port every custom software they have built over decades to Linux? Not to mention driver support for legacy/custom hardware. Also, from where would they get the support an…
It will fail because employees want "mouse point and click", "mouse point and double click" interfaces and are unable to use anything else.
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#17I’m always surprised to see how naive people are when comparing the enterprise/government usage of software vs. Personal usage. Linux and open source software are a good alternative for personal usage, but for government usage, wouldn’t they have to port every custom software they have built over decades to Linux? Not to mention driver support for legacy/custom hardware. Also, from where would they get the support an…
Maybe not the case for everyone, but this has been the reason for making as much in-house software as possible behind a web frontend.
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#18Office is going to be a blocker - not just because of the two XML file formats, but because of the different UI. I personally find the Microsoft version more productive despite a mental list of complaints I have with it. The correct choice, in my opinion, would be to invest in a new EU_Office project that uses the Microsoft XML formats. If you're trying to run your government on a new platform, that would also be a h…
The results have been pretty surprisingly good. There’s a lot of functionality missing on first use, but I think if I let it churn through a few million more tokens it could get close.
I would be very concerned if I were a MS, SaaS or Adobe about what’s to come in the near future.
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#19I’m always surprised to see how naive people are when comparing the enterprise/government usage of software vs. Personal usage. Linux and open source software are a good alternative for personal usage, but for government usage, wouldn’t they have to port every custom software they have built over decades to Linux? Not to mention driver support for legacy/custom hardware. Also, from where would they get the support an…
The point of migration seems to be data-storage compliance anyway. They can later migrate off Windows easily once openDesk gets them going.
Re: Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers
#20The real risk to MS here is when people take the plunge and see how much nicer a (well supported, well put together) Linux distro is, compared to Windows etc! Will they want to buy their next laptop at home with MSFT installed? Plus, if countries moving off Microsoft put a fraction of the savings into libre office product development, it might get an even more lopsided comparison!
Having Tuxedo, System76 and co is great, but what most people care about is what there are in regular consumer shops.
Linux adoption among consumer hardware has only been a success where it is invisible to the user, like the Linux kernel on Android or WebOS, firmware on DVD/BlueRay players,...