Following a successful pilot project, the northern German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein has decided to move from Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office to Linux and LibreOffice (and other free and open source software) on the 30,000 PCs used in the local government. As reported on the homepage of the Minister-President: Independent, sustainable, secure: Schleswig-Holstein will […]
Linux and LibreOffice are really mature pieces of software, especially the Linux kernel. You have to understand that this is not just about saving taxpayer money, but more importantly about sovereignty. When the US government has a direct tap to the most sensitive data in a nation, that nation is not sovereign. The espionage that the US government is conducting in other countries is unprecedented in human history. Think about all the cloud services and telemetry. How the hell does it make sense for a foreign nation to just hand over all this data and at the same time pay a premium? Let me tell you, it makes zero sense for a nation that is sovreign and free.
Money that used to go to expensive $/user/month licenses to Microsoft can now go to funding local development of open source software and making jobs. You and I benefit from that too.
While I agree with you about open source software and wish this state success, I’m not blind to the fact that the road is difficult to do so and budgets only go so far in government. And they will end up doing what is easiest and cheapest to do. Sovereignty or not. It’s human nature.
As far as espionage goes EVERY nation on the planet is doing so. So it just ain’t the US to blame or fear. So don’t blame just the US and then pat yourself on the back because you think you are above such things. You country is most definitely not and they are engaged in it, (against you also), even as we speak. And wherever do you think the US learned it from? European nations where spying on each other and their own citizens long before the US was even a thought. Everyone has just gotten better at it.
Linux and LibreOffice are really mature pieces of software, especially the Linux kernel. You have to understand that this is not just about saving taxpayer money, but more importantly about sovereignty. When the US government has a direct tap to the most sensitive data in a nation, that nation is not sovereign. The espionage that the US government is conducting in other countries is unprecedented in human history. Think about all the cloud services and telemetry. How the hell does it make sense for a foreign nation to just hand over all this data and at the same time pay a premium? Let me tell you, it makes zero sense for a nation that is sovreign and free.
Money that used to go to expensive $/user/month licenses to Microsoft can now go to funding local development of open source software and making jobs. You and I benefit from that too.
While I agree with you about open source software and wish this state success, I’m not blind to the fact that the road is difficult to do so and budgets only go so far in government. And they will end up doing what is easiest and cheapest to do. Sovereignty or not. It’s human nature.
As far as espionage goes EVERY nation on the planet is doing so. So it just ain’t the US to blame or fear. So don’t blame just the US and then pat yourself on the back because you think you are above such things. You country is most definitely not and they are engaged in it, (against you also), even as we speak. And wherever do you think the US learned it from? European nations where spying on each other and their own citizens long before the US was even a thought. Everyone has just gotten better at it.
I don’t disagree with you.