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According to a report on Heise Online (currently German language only), the city of Berlin, capital of Germany, is very likely to switch to Linux as currently does Munich. 58.000 desktop PCs and and an unknown amount of servers could be affected
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First we take Munich, then we take Berlin....
According to a report on Heise Online (currently German language only), the city of Berlin, capital of Germany, is very likely to switch to Linux as currently does Munich. First, they will draft plans to migrate the servers, but the 58.000 Windows desktops will also be replaced sooner or later with an open source solution - most probably Linux, is my guess :-) However, do not expect a migration in the next few months - they will probably fade out their XP desktops, so a migration will take years.
The city administration will also be required to buy only such software that uses "real open" interfaces and formats, not only de-facto standards. ODF and XML are mentioned as such truly open formats.
And please note that the current government of Berlin, which is a coalition of the Socialists (SPD) and the Communists (PDS) needed politically to be forced (and still is under heavy pressure) to open the city administration to Open Source solutions by the city council (after MS managed to get a contract to equip the Berlin police forces) . That contradicts that BS talk about Linux being a socialist or even communist movement! The decision for OSS and especially Linux is obviously not related to left or right in a political sense.
BTW, there is also a nice link (old) to a some penguins on a Microsoft lobby party in Berlin... Enjoy :-)
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It was reliably reported after a series of whirlwind meetings that some of recalcitrant were told they should bring their affairs into order. This advise was given only to spare the respective surviving family members of too much added distress. That is, added to the loss of their loved ones. A few were not so lucky to be given time to reflect upon the error of their ways, since they were found several floors beneath broken windows where they exited either in or with their chairs where the victims were either still placed or nearby, both in general poor condition. The police said there would be a full, proper investigation and the evil doers would be caught and punished to the full extent that American Law would allow the Germans. Moreover a police escort was given to and will protect Mr. Boomer from any crazies that might wish to do him harm.
The latest word is that the administration for the City of Berlin and Microsoft have come to an amicable understanding. While not all the details are known at this moment, but the broad outlines are: all Linux installation real and imagined are to be removed with maximum malice. Moreover, MS generously gave the city a 75% discount on all existing licenses and upgrades. Furthermore, the city agreed to buy twice as many licenses as they would ever need at full price. Finally there was happiness all around, with the city receiving advice on how to pay for its expanded use of all things Microsoft: no street lights at night, most traffic signals would be turned off on alternating intersections on alternate days. All traffic regulations would furthermore be secret and one escapes jail only by cash payments with no receipts. The City is assured of its fair share of the loot. Some of the latter features were substituted for potions of the agreement that mentioned something about: " ... the first born".
Now that's how to do business the Microsoft way - makes the Mafia look like girlieboys.
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