Live data from Hacker News

Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

techrepublic.com

1–10 of 177 posts

Re: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

#2
I am deeply suspicious of the motives here...

Yes I'm sure people moan about IT. They moan about Windows where I work. They probably moaned about the quality of the quills 100 years ago.

Libre office is perfectly capable for most users, and is very compatible with MS Office. It is easy for users to transition too.

I doubt any of this has anything to do with any of those points.

Re: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

#3
I'm surprised the elected officials are so involved in deciding what desktop software is in use. I'm not sure whether to be impressed that they are this deep into details, or skeptical that politicians rather than professionals are making these decisions. Both I guess. I just can't imagine the council in any US jurisdiction meddling in what desktop OS is chosen throughout the jurisdiction.

Re: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

#4
They suggest that virtual desktops make the client OS irrelevant. My employer (US government agency) went to completely virtual desktops and I was surprised they stuck with Windows 7 for the client laptops. Seemed a perfect place to put Red Hat or some other Linux. I wondered if Windows is priced so there is no advantage to using anything else, or if even dumb clients still need enough management that they would rather use a familiar OS.

Re: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

#5

I am deeply suspicious of the motives here... Yes I'm sure people moan about IT. They moan about Windows where I work. They probably moaned about the quality of the quills 100 years ago. Libre office is perfectly capable for most users, and is very compatible with MS Office. It is easy for users to transition too. I doubt any of this has anything to do with any of those points.

Microsoft Office is better, for not very much more $ per desktop.

Re: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

#8
Hm..

"At the time the report was released, the FSFE questioned why Accenture was commissioned to co-author a report assessing the use of Microsoft software, when the consultancy runs a joint venture with Microsoft called Avanade, which helps businesses implement Microsoft technologies. For its part, Accenture said it has an "independent view of the technology landscape".

"At the time Munich began the move to LiMux in 2004 it was one of the largest organizations to reject Windows, and Microsoft took the city's leaving so seriously that then CEO Steve Ballmer flew to Munich to meet the mayor. More recently, Microsoft last year moved its German company headquarters to Munich."

Everything else that is written there points towards it making no sense to switch back to Windows.

Re: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

#9

I am deeply suspicious of the motives here... Yes I'm sure people moan about IT. They moan about Windows where I work. They probably moaned about the quality of the quills 100 years ago. Libre office is perfectly capable for most users, and is very compatible with MS Office. It is easy for users to transition too. I doubt any of this has anything to do with any of those points.

Microsoft Office is better, for not very much more $ per desktop.

Better at what? Most users just write simple letters in Word and make simple lists in Excel.

I am known as an Excel power user, and Excel is better at some things than calc, but not very much. Calc is better at exporting unicode CSV, which is big news for a developer.

365 starts at $99 a year, per user. That is quite a lot in my book when you have thousands of users

Re: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows

#10

I am deeply suspicious of the motives here... Yes I'm sure people moan about IT. They moan about Windows where I work. They probably moaned about the quality of the quills 100 years ago. Libre office is perfectly capable for most users, and is very compatible with MS Office. It is easy for users to transition too. I doubt any of this has anything to do with any of those points.

Microsoft Office is better, for not very much more $ per desktop.

As opposed to OpenOffice or Libreoffice for free?
Post reply on HN