3 ms·

Fantastic ! At this point, there is very little reason for federal, state and local government to be saddled with millions in license costs

• jussij 8y ago
  A decade ago one major local government agency did in fact move away from Windows in the hope of avoiding those costly license fees. They found out it can also be quite costly to run Linux as an alternative: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ditching-windows-for-linux-led-to-major-difficulties-says-open-source-champion-munich/ https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ditching-windows-for-li...
  • commoner 8y ago
    Let's be more specific. Microsoft didn't like the fact that Munich switched to Linux, so they moved their headquarters to Munich to gain political clout, ushered in a more favorable mayor, and then hired Accenture to release a report claiming that Windows would be more cost-effective. It worked. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/linux-in-munich-no-compelling-technical-reason-to-return-to-windows-says-citys-it-chief/ https://www.techrepublic.com/article/linux-in-munich-no-comp...
  • sazfedjhrgnukc 8y ago
    Turns out, using something other than Windows doesn't equate to using something that requires no support. And support is not free.
    • jussij 8y ago
      Irrespective of what system is in place there will always be support/training/running costs associated with managing a big IT system.
  • kevindqc 8y ago
    But they said their problem was that they also needed Windows machines to run line-of-business apps and that it wasn't cost effective, something that Wine is supposed to help with (running Windows apps in Linux).
  • xvilka 8y ago
    Most likely there were just bribed by one unnamed company, or promised some investments - the time correlates with expanding their office in Munich. So I would not trust Munich's claims at all. Despite recent whitewashing of Microsoft image they were never practicing a fair business.
    • deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
  • the_duke 8y ago
    If you read some more about the issue, it becomes clear that after an election, the conservative party with long-term ties to Microsoft was happy to reverse the decision.
• zozbot123 8y ago
  The "game support" they're talking about is not what you're probably thinking of - Wine has been able to run Solitaire and Minesweeper for quite a while already.
  • pgnas 8y ago
    True. I admit. I was just looking for an an inroad, thanks for calling me out :)