Munich May Be Dumping Linux for Windows 10

Megalith

Megalith

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Not that I even knew about the German government adopting Linux at a massive scale, but apparently, they have gotten tired of it and are moving back to Microsoft’s serving. Currently, Munich is running on a version of Ubuntu called LiMux, but if the right proposals are approved, it’s Windows 10 time. Was Linux just too slow, even for government sloths? Or did Satya buy the right people some yachts? Who knows…

…if the personnel committee wins approval for its proposal next, Munich's desktops will be running Windows all the way. In the interim, the committee suggested, city workers should still be able to run Windows or LiMux as they choose. "The mayor was against free software from the beginning," said Matthias Kirschner, the president of Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). "When he was elected, he took pride in getting Microsoft to move their office to Munich [a move that took place last September]. He even gave this study to Accenture, which is a Microsoft partner." According to Kirschner, Munich's IT problems are not so much down to the use of free software as they are the result of poor management and organizational structure, a view backed up by Accenture's study.
 
Was corruption/bribery involved? Probably. But at the same time, I don't exactly think the FSFE is being entirely forthcoming either with their case. They stated organizational problems with the main issue being old software being used. (Of course, by the time 2020 comes around, Windows 10 will be old). This is a problem I have with Linux. It's just too difficult to use. Someone will respond, well, just use this flavor of Linux, or if you want to use this piece of software, do X, Y, Z, etc. I don't care if in the end it makes it easier to use, the learning curve is still too steep for many people. Yes, even having to update software is too difficult a task in the end for the layperson. We're not talking about a tech industry here who are use to such things. We're talking about government officials. Poor management and organizational structure should be expected.
 
Nytegard said:
Was corruption/bribery involved? Probably. But at the same time, I don't exactly think the FSFE is being entirely forthcoming either with their case. They stated organizational problems with the main issue being old software being used. (Of course, by the time 2020 comes around, Windows 10 will be old). This is a problem I have with Linux. It's just too difficult to use. Someone will respond, well, just use this flavor of Linux, or if you want to use this piece of software, do X, Y, Z, etc. I don't care if in the end it makes it easier to use, the learning curve is still too steep for many people. Yes, even having to update software is too difficult a task in the end for the layperson. We're not talking about a tech industry here who are use to such things. We're talking about government officials. Poor management and organizational structure should be expected.
Click to expand...

This.

Don't expect too much from the average user.
 
Megalith said:
Not that I even knew about the German government adopting Linux at a massive scale, but apparently, they have gotten tired of it and are moving back to Microsoft’s serving. Currently, Munich is running on a version of Ubuntu called LiMux, but if the right proposals are approved, it’s Windows 10 time. Was Linux just too slow, even for government sloths? Or did Satya buy the right people some yachts? Who knows…
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This is really old news, Munich started migration to SUSE linux back in 2003. i haven't followed it that closely but there were other German municipalities also studying switching over.

Wither they switch back to Microsoft or not, Munich deployment generates tons of real world usage data on the use and deployment of linux at city scale, thus Microsoft has been literally trying for years to put the cat back in the bag and get them to switch back to Windows but as with all governments they move like sloths since Munich started considering switching back in 2014.
 
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Nytegard said:
Was corruption/bribery involved? Probably. But at the same time, I don't exactly think the FSFE is being entirely forthcoming either with their case. They stated organizational problems with the main issue being old software being used. (Of course, by the time 2020 comes around, Windows 10 will be old). This is a problem I have with Linux. It's just too difficult to use. Someone will respond, well, just use this flavor of Linux, or if you want to use this piece of software, do X, Y, Z, etc. I don't care if in the end it makes it easier to use, the learning curve is still too steep for many people. Yes, even having to update software is too difficult a task in the end for the layperson. We're not talking about a tech industry here who are use to such things. We're talking about government officials. Poor management and organizational structure should be expected.
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Updates, configuration, packages installed, etc can all be automated. You do need real IT staff to implement it however.
 
Yeah I haven't actually had anyone say Linux is too hard after they've actually used a good distro. If anything they actually say it's easier. I support Linux and Windows users as part of my business.
 
The thing is.......Germans really love trains. It was inevitable really.

Microsoft-Train-Simulator-Cover-Download.jpg
 
Out of the frying pan into the fire.

But something tells me MS is giving the licenses away free for the propaganda value. Right now 10 needs all the positive spin it can get.
 
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Tweak42 said:
This is really old news, Munich started migration to SUSE linux back in 2003. i haven't followed it that closely but there were other German municipalities also studying switching over.

Wither they switch back to Microsoft or not, Munich deployment generates tons of real world usage data on the use and deployment of linux at city scale, thus Microsoft has been literally trying for years to put the cat back in the bag and get them to switch back to Windows but as with all governments they move like sloths since Munich started considering switching back in 2014.
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This has been going on for some time. But there's been plenty coming out on this over the years that wasn't all that great for Linux. Whatever one thinks of Windows or Linux on the desktop, they both have their strengths and weaknesses and which ever route one goes it's boils down to one set of strengths and weaknesses versus a different set. It's that simple. Linux is free to obtain, has few issues with local desktop malware and is inherently more configurable. Windows has by far the better ecosystem, especially when it comes to the latest and greatest in hardware and software.

For most people the ecosystem of Windows wins out. Unless desktop Linux provides some superiority that can't be touched, it's touch to tell people that they have to give up tons of hardware and software and use alternatives that generally have Windows support and this piece points out this issue. People who want to stay with LibreOffice can stay with that, others can chose to use Microsoft Office. In these discussions of moving to form Windows to Linux, it's kind of amazing how easily Linux folks dismiss that all that alternative software they're talking about is often Windows compatible.
 
The first time I heard this was about 3 years ago....

Defiantly taking a while transitioning back to Windows. In the mean time I read of more Government departments switching to Linux.

[yawn].
 
No matter what your software ideology, your beliefs, how you do your setup, how you do your family's setups, or whatever, you have absolutely no control whatsoever over the attachment in the important email you get. You've been waiting for it, you need to open it, and you go to do so, and something irregular happens. It doesn't open, or it has lots of errors, or something is not rendered. Something about it messes up the entire plan.

It's probably an Office document. It probably works fine on Office 2016, and 2013, and 2010. It probably opens on Office for Mac. It doesn't open for you.

Now multiply that by an entire city's computer systems.

Blame whoever you want. Rage your ideology all you want. Post on message boards all you want about free software and choice and do the Braveheart half blue face makeup thing. All the anger in the world can't control that file that lands in your inbox.
 
The problem is that everybody knows Windows. That includes the people working in government offices and the people they are in contact with. It's the same problem with Facebook or Whatsapp. Yes, there might be better, safe and more private options out there, but that doesn't count for much if basically everybody you need to communicate with uses something else. And all the complaints about Linux from employees and IT were not made up, they were real. In the end the switch to Linux in Munic wasn't cheaper, didn't make anything easier or better.
 
SuperSubZero said:
No matter what your software ideology, your beliefs, how you do your setup, how you do your family's setups, or whatever, you have absolutely no control whatsoever over the attachment in the important email you get. You've been waiting for it, you need to open it, and you go to do so, and something irregular happens. It doesn't open, or it has lots of errors, or something is not rendered. Something about it messes up the entire plan.

It's probably an Office document. It probably works fine on Office 2016, and 2013, and 2010. It probably opens on Office for Mac. It doesn't open for you.

Now multiply that by an entire city's computer systems.

Blame whoever you want. Rage your ideology all you want. Post on message boards all you want about free software and choice and do the Braveheart half blue face makeup thing. All the anger in the world can't control that file that lands in your inbox.
Click to expand...

Microsoft is intentionally building proprietary formats to block competition. Whenever this sort of situation happens to me, I just request the sender to resend the document in some better format.
 
The article paints a picture of backroom deals and pre-meditated agendas to me. It shouldn't be a decision that is made lightly. With the background noise of increasing US nationalism, spying (on Angela Merkel directly, peripheral things like NSA tainted Cisco gear), and all that makes up the current political landscape, I do not know why you would willingly make yourself dependent on a US controlled company (with their own trunk full of baggage) when you're already fairly disengaged from that lock-in.
But if they setup shop in your town and take you out to dinner a few times, what the hey...
 
Linux desktop works fine as a windows replacement. There is just a lack of first party software.
 
Staples said:
Linux desktop works fine as a windows replacement. There is just a lack of first party software.
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That's the issue with all operating systems. DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1 would work fine as a substitute for Windows 10, if I could just get a proper web browser written for it!
 
As I recall from articles back when the move to LiMux was planned, there were a number of open source customized applications being developed for the city's needs.
I don't recall what they were.
So we're not talking about just moving from Windows/MS Office to Linux/Open Office.

There was an article last May regarding how slow the city was to keep the computers up to date:
http://www.techrepublic.com/article...nch-report-that-could-decide-its-open-source/
 
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