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Meanwhile in Munch... "German city of Munich, famous for rejecting Windows in favour of using Linux on its PCs, will return to Windows after the move won the b

Meanwhile in Munch... "German city of Munich, famous for rejecting Windows in favour of using Linux on its PCs, will return to Windows after the move won the backing of the full council." Source: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/end-of-an-open-source-era-linux-pioneer-munich-confirms-switch-to-windows-10/ https://www.techrepublic.com/article/end-of-an-open-source-e...

clvx 6y ago
And back to open source. https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-not-windows-why-munich-is-shifting-back-from-microsoft-to-open-source-again/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-not-windows-why-munich-i...
- Boulth 6y ago
  Ha, great to hear. I always assumed they went back to windows as part of some deal as around the same time Microsoft opened a big HQ in Munich.
netsharc 6y ago
According to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiMux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiMux the politicians decided last month to go back to Linux. Apparently Ballmer visited Munich a lot trying to persuade the politicians to stay/switch back to Windows, even moving Microsoft's German HQ to the city.
- swypych 6y ago
  This is super telling and Ballmer understands the impact of this relatively small decision and its ripple effect it will have for other municipalities. From a long term perspective, my bet is on Linux.
- buovjaga 6y ago
  I think the timeline entry in Wikipedia is misleading. If you look at the referenced ZDNet article, it has this: "We're very happy that they're taking on the points in the 'Public Money, Public Code' campaign we started two and a half years ago," Alex Sander, EU public policy manager at the Berlin-based Free Software Foundation Europe, tells ZDNet. But it's also important to note that this is just a statement in a coalition agreement outlining future plans, he says. "Nothing will change from one day to the next, and we wouldn't expect it to," Sander continued, noting that the city would also be waiting for ongoing software contracts to expire. "But the next time there is a new contract, we believe it should involve free software." Any such step-by-step transition can be expected to take years. But it is also possible that Munich will be able to move faster than most because they are not starting from zero, Sander noted.

clvx 6y ago

And back to open source. https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-not-windows-why-munich-is-shifting-back-from-microsoft-to-open-source-again/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-not-windows-why-munich-i...

Boulth 6y ago
Ha, great to hear. I always assumed they went back to windows as part of some deal as around the same time Microsoft opened a big HQ in Munich.

netsharc 6y ago

According to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiMux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiMux the politicians decided last month to go back to Linux. Apparently Ballmer visited Munich a lot trying to persuade the politicians to stay/switch back to Windows, even moving Microsoft's German HQ to the city.

swypych 6y ago
This is super telling and Ballmer understands the impact of this relatively small decision and its ripple effect it will have for other municipalities. From a long term perspective, my bet is on Linux.
buovjaga 6y ago
I think the timeline entry in Wikipedia is misleading. If you look at the referenced ZDNet article, it has this: "We're very happy that they're taking on the points in the 'Public Money, Public Code' campaign we started two and a half years ago," Alex Sander, EU public policy manager at the Berlin-based Free Software Foundation Europe, tells ZDNet. But it's also important to note that this is just a statement in a coalition agreement outlining future plans, he says. "Nothing will change from one day to the next, and we wouldn't expect it to," Sander continued, noting that the city would also be waiting for ongoing software contracts to expire. "But the next time there is a new contract, we believe it should involve free software." Any such step-by-step transition can be expected to take years. But it is also possible that Munich will be able to move faster than most because they are not starting from zero, Sander noted.