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French police move from Windows to Ubuntu Linux
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Comments (14)
Well, the article says that they migrated from WindowsXP to Ubuntu. We may see more announcements like this from large organizations before XP SP3 support ends on April 8th, 2014. The Commandant of La Gendarmerie Nationale said: "For the same amount of work, yielding the same results, we realized that Windows would cost us €2 million more than Ubuntu every year.” He also said that "The force is also saving money with Linux's easier management and a huge decrease of local technical interventions on Ubuntu's desktops." Is he referring to "technical interventions" in the form of malware? I suspect that cash-strapped governments will consider the long-term savings benefits as long as they are unswayed by "inducements" from Redmond's empire.
That's a good question. The "Microsoft bond" seems to be the strongest in the U.S., Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand. I remember a Linux forum member from Australia saying that he estimated the Linux uptake there to be less than 1%. Much less. And he estimated the remaining chunk of the 1% to be split among the BSDs and AmigaOS. Brazil has a national policy of "preferring", I believe, (if not mandating), FOSS over proprietary. However, if the stories I've read have any merit, Microsoft does an end run around the regulations by bribing, er, offering "inducements" to the Brazilian state governments.
I'm in the U.S. I switched my mom over to Linux some years ago. She's an avid bridge player. She says that when the bridge game chatter shifts to the latest so-called "computer virus" that she tells the other players she doesn't get viruses because she uses Linux. She also says that they all look at her like she's from another planet. Not once have any of the bridge playing ladies actually asked what Linux is.
Quoting:There is something somewhere that I have read which indicates that Linux as an OS is often more acceptable in non-English speaking countries.....The French and German experiences "seem" to indicate this might be so. I wonder why ?
That's a good question. The "Microsoft bond" seems to be the strongest in the U.S., Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand. I remember a Linux forum member from Australia saying that he estimated the Linux uptake there to be less than 1%. Much less. And he estimated the remaining chunk of the 1% to be split among the BSDs and AmigaOS. Brazil has a national policy of "preferring", I believe, (if not mandating), FOSS over proprietary. However, if the stories I've read have any merit, Microsoft does an end run around the regulations by bribing, er, offering "inducements" to the Brazilian state governments.
I'm in the U.S. I switched my mom over to Linux some years ago. She's an avid bridge player. She says that when the bridge game chatter shifts to the latest so-called "computer virus" that she tells the other players she doesn't get viruses because she uses Linux. She also says that they all look at her like she's from another planet. Not once have any of the bridge playing ladies actually asked what Linux is.
Djohnston, one of the most satisfying things that I do is ask an Australian smartphone user how they are enjoying the Linux experience. Generally speaking, you get the same blank looks and "another planet" reaction as your Mom gets........until you get them to understand they are running Android........."Oh yes" is the general response, and then you take them that step further and they realise that they are running Google's version of Linux........and the rest follows.
The market is almost ripe, I think, for the Android PC and Laptop in a really big way. Frankly, I don't care how we get there, as long as we get the viral incubator known as......(insert suitable name here) off the user base.
Update.......I think something that is even more interesting is noted in this article:
http://www.unixmen.com/says-linux-growing/
And that is the possible shift from WinXP to Linux. There is still a huge user base of WinXP out there in the real world that is going to lose Redmond support next year......Linux may, repeat "may", get a large number of converts. The underlying problem is that transferring from Windows to Linux takes planning....not just "make it so". But one can hope.
The market is almost ripe, I think, for the Android PC and Laptop in a really big way. Frankly, I don't care how we get there, as long as we get the viral incubator known as......(insert suitable name here) off the user base.
Update.......I think something that is even more interesting is noted in this article:
http://www.unixmen.com/says-linux-growing/
And that is the possible shift from WinXP to Linux. There is still a huge user base of WinXP out there in the real world that is going to lose Redmond support next year......Linux may, repeat "may", get a large number of converts. The underlying problem is that transferring from Windows to Linux takes planning....not just "make it so". But one can hope.
It's been a well known fact for a long time that what people use are the applications, the OS is practically irrelevant.
...except where those applications (MS Office, various high-end games) are written to only run on one particular OS.
...except where those applications (MS Office, various high-end games) are written to only run on one particular OS.
@henke54......The first interesting thing about the article you quote is TCO. For considerable time, Microsoft has been shouting that moving to FOSS increases TCO for the organisation leaving their software behind. The statement is now made bluntly that the Gendarmerie finds TCO drops 40% by moving totally to Linux. That's a nice big pebble in Redmond's shoe.
> The statement is now made bluntly that the Gendarmerie finds TCO drops 40% by moving totally to Linux. That's a nice big pebble in Redmond's shoe.
This is only news to people who believe everything Microsoft tells them, of course. Anyone who's used and/or worked with Linux in the real world knew better.
This is only news to people who believe everything Microsoft tells them, of course. Anyone who's used and/or worked with Linux in the real world knew better.
Quoting:Anyone who's used and/or worked with Linux in the real world knew better.
And wonders if the 40% is understated.
> And wonders if the 40% is understated.
Quite possibly. I'd guess that savings much over 50% are unlikely though. Hardware, utility, and staffing costs may be reduced, but they're still significant.
Quite possibly. I'd guess that savings much over 50% are unlikely though. Hardware, utility, and staffing costs may be reduced, but they're still significant.
40%, 50% or more.......what matter ? This is BIG !! And it is now firmly on the world stage.. It's not just a nice big pebble in my humble opinion, the stone has got spiky bits all over it. There will be other European nations taking very serious note.....And Redmond thinking up new ways to stop innovation and progress. There are times I really don't have much sympathy for American businesses.......and on the contrary, I very much like Google and Amazon and Red Hat......and.....ever felt torn ?
there is lots of more open source news here : http://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/all
;-)
Businesses are run by people, Ridcully, and they take on the aspects those people give them.
Sadly, I think you are absolutely right jdixon.
I'd sooner call it a "kidney stone" for Microsoft.
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There is something somewhere that I have read which indicates that Linux as an OS is often more acceptable in non-English speaking countries.....The French and German experiences "seem" to indicate this might be so. I wonder why ?