M$ Kicked to the curb in Germany

Bokeh

Interesting read
How Munich rejected Steve Ballmer and kicked Microsoft out of the city - Feature - TechRepublic

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Comments

WGUGeekGirl

Very interesting indeed...

Master Of Puppets

I didn't know about that. Pretty cool if you ask me.

SteveFT

That is one company that is very easy to hate. Most recently, I have been annoyed with the fact that no major laptop manufacturer will make a computer with Linux pre-installed. I know there are alternatives out there, but I can't imagine Microsoft hasn't been threatening these companies to make sure that it doesn't happen.

stryder144

You could try Dell, they have models pre-loaded with Ubuntu.

Master Of Puppets

SteveFT wrote: »

That is one company that is very easy to hate. Most recently, I have been annoyed with the fact that no major laptop manufacturer will make a computer with Linux pre-installed. I know there are alternatives out there, but I can't imagine Microsoft hasn't been threatening these companies to make sure that it doesn't happen.

Actually, I have been seeing a lot of laptops that come with Linux or no OS at all lately. Microsoft is, without a doubt, dominating but Linux really is increasing in popularity.

eansdad

I'm sure both sides skewed numbers to show they are right. All in all Munich could have gone with an M$ OS and OpenOffice which most likely would have saved them the most money. I can only imagine what they have to pay IT staff to be able to support an almost all propriety Linux environment not to mention people who not only support but are active contributors to open source projects. It is an interesting article but a bit one sided. Not defending M$ but fair is fair.

CCNTrainee

SteveFT wrote: »

That is one company that is very easy to hate. Most recently, I have been annoyed with the fact that no major laptop manufacturer will make a computer with Linux pre-installed. I know there are alternatives out there, but I can't imagine Microsoft hasn't been threatening these companies to make sure that it doesn't happen.

Bro I hit you up on the Thread with you looking for a Barebones laptop, the one I just ordered is coming to me WITHOUT an OS. I already have XP+7 and different Linux flavors loaded on a USB key to install when said machine gets to me. They are vendors that do it; you just have to look for the customized vendors to get what you want... Lol

EngRob

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing!

it_consultant

I think this is actually very irresponsible. The fact that it took 9 years to do a desktop migration demonstrates the problems they faced. It was popular in the early 2000s to bash Microsoft (and rightly so in areas like virus prevention) but it is 2013 now and frankly, from XP SP3 on a properly admined Microsoft box is a fine tool. Use Linux, use Microsoft, use Mac, use Oracle, use the solutions you need to get the job done.

coffeeluvr

Thanks for sharing the link.

blargoe

This is an interesting article. They went from using "industry standard" OS and productivity suites but not being standardized with internal processes, individual packages used in factions of the organization, etc., to moving away from industry norms but standardizing everything withing their own ecosystem. I can understand not wanting to be overly dependent on a single vendor for an overwhelming majority of technology, but you also get the benefit of having a large support orgainization and large body of SMEs to pick from to operate the envrionment if you use Microsoft.

RouteMyPacket

typisch Deutsch...they barreled into something with a set mind frame and naturally ran into many issues. I am sure they will look at savings in the future but make no mistake about it they spent a ton of Euros migrating. That was a spend now, save later situation.

I highly doubt they would disclose the final cost for the migration. So many factors, they had to bring in Unix/Linux experts, train current staff on Unix/Linux support, train end users....man I bet that was a seriously ugly migration

petedude

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

....man I bet that was a seriously ugly migration

I seem to remember reading about issues.

As quickly as Linux/FOSS is maturing finally, this should be no problem in the future. Definitely a spend now, save later thing. But then most migrations ARE spend now, save later deals.

M$ has been doing themselves no favors by releasing two so-so OSes pretty close together-- Vista and then Win8. To the degree that the Linux distros can become easier to maintain, they can make it a tougher sell to buy more M$.

SteveFT

CCNTrainee wrote: »

Bro I hit you up on the Thread with you looking for a Barebones laptop, the one I just ordered is coming to me WITHOUT an OS. I already have XP+7 and different Linux flavors loaded on a USB key to install when said machine gets to me. They are vendors that do it; you just have to look for the customized vendors to get what you want... Lol

I think the key words that people missed from my response were "major laptop manufacturer." I would not personally include Sager/Clevo in this list. Very few Dell notebooks seem to include Linux. From my quick research, this only seems to include the XPS developer series. If you search "Linux" or "Ubuntu", you will find a number of other machines that list Ubuntu as an OS. However, when you click customize, it appears that Windows is built into the price and you cannot choose Ubuntu.

In any case, my point was that many manufacturers are forced to go with Windows, or watch their business go elsewhere.

CCNTrainee

Well that is the magic of having a Contract; every mainstream company will have a contract with MS. After all we are a corporate culture that is always motivated by money, looking for the mainstream to exploit the everyday Joe. Apple knows this as well, it’s all Business in the end of the day, no one is being forced they just looking to make their profits the easiest way possible. If there is someone to blame, it would be the mass of users since most aren't computer literate to experiment outside with what they are comfortable with and what is "easy" for them. If I remember correctly, it has been said Linux users only make 1% of the market share, which I am sure isn't entirely accurate, but it still sadly only shows that Linux is small compared to Apple and MS. Here is another statistic to consider, out of my whole unit of 150+ people, I am one of 4 that actually knows how to install, run and operate a Linux OS. I would love to teach the others even the "very basics", but the majority doesn’t care to learn, let alone want to use Linux.

W Stewart

it_consultant wrote: »

I think this is actually very irresponsible. The fact that it took 9 years to do a desktop migration demonstrates the problems they faced. It was popular in the early 2000s to bash Microsoft (and rightly so in areas like virus prevention) but it is 2013 now and frankly, from XP SP3 on a properly admined Microsoft box is a fine tool. Use Linux, use Microsoft, use Mac, use Oracle, use the solutions you need to get the job done.

I'll agree with the exception of Server 2012. A touchscreen-like menu interface doesn't belong on a server.

tpatt100

I think for many companies, schools, local and state governments can and already have moved away from a pure Microsoft network and are running a mixed environment. As long as people insist on open standards when it comes to purchasing software then they won't get too stuck on one particular platform. I think trying to migrate totally away from Microsoft is more work than it is worth to the level Munich did though. Moving away from Microsoft due to licensing fees for things like servers can be worth it but Microsoft changes licensing terms all the time to adapt to changes to make sure profits don't decrease.

I think it can be cost effective in ways to move to linux back ends and still use Microsoft software for the clients to avoid potential issues with employees and move to more flexible license terms with Redhat and buy support from them to save money.

I don't think the mass of users have to or should be required to learn other operating systems beyond the basics because they have other things to worry about like using the software to do their jobs.

I think using open source is great, open standards to me is the most important but if you are going to run your government or business off open source software make sure to purchase the support packages if available. People supporting and developing open source software should earn a living also.

it_consultant

W Stewart wrote: »

I'll agree with the exception of Server 2012. A touchscreen-like menu interface doesn't belong on a server.

OK, I am not WILD about the interface of Server 2012 but in almost every fashion (especially Virtualization and RDS) server 2012 clobbers 2008R2. Microsoft will say you should be using powershell anyway, which they are somewhat right and in all honestly I haven't had issues with managing Server 2012 or 2012R2 servers. If they had a way to change the shell to classic, I would probably do it.

WafflesAndRootbeer

SteveFT wrote: »

That is one company that is very easy to hate. Most recently, I have been annoyed with the fact that no major laptop manufacturer will make a computer with Linux pre-installed. I know there are alternatives out there, but I can't imagine Microsoft hasn't been threatening these companies to make sure that it doesn't happen.

HP and Dell both offer Enterprise-grade laptops and desktops with Redhat Linux and some regions like India and other parts of Asia have brand-name PCs sold with Linux. Truth be told, you're better off just buying a computer without an OS - a rarity I know - or just getting a Windows machine and refitting it for Linux than you would digging for a pre-made Linux system.

tpatt100

Lonely Island "Threw It On the Ground" comes to mind when I saw the title of this thread.

JockVSJock

This has been going on since around 2005.

I wrote a paper for one of my grad school classes on how either companies or institutions were cutting out Microsoft and going with Linux.

If memory serves, they were going with SuSE. And I also seem to remember the Steve Ballmer made a few visits to stop the cutover.

For linuxtoday.com

Stories from 2003 and 2006

Linux Today - LinuxPR: Munich Goes with Open Source Software

Linux Today - Techworld: Munich Linux Scales Desktop Management

Zartanasaurus

A better, non-biased version of this thread title would be "German city spends 9 years trying to figure out how to migrate from Windows NT to Linux".