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Munich Switches

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M51DPS:
Hmm, doesn't look good for Microsoft.

 
quote:MUNICH, May 28 (Reuters) - The city of Munich said on Wednesday it would switch 14,000 computers from Microsoft's Windows operating system to rival Linux in a deal estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros.

The decision is a blow to U.S. giant Microsoft, whose chief executive Steve Ballmer had personally campaigned for Microsoft's counter-offer to the city, based on Windows XP.

Microsoft has created two funds to discount its products against the emerging Linux software, which is eating into its most profitable business.

"This strategic decision makes Munich less dependent on one IT supplier and sets a trend towards more competition," Munich mayor Christian Ude said in a statement.

Analysts said Munich's decision to choose open source software, which means Linux, was a breakthrough.

"It is one of the largest desktop migrations to Linux ever seen," said Gartner Dataquest analyst Nikos Drakos in London.

Linux suppliers welcomed the move by of one of Germany's largest cities, where many of the country's biggest corporations have their headquarters.

"You can compare this to the fall of the Berlin Wall," said Richard Seibt, Chief Executive of Linux software provider Suse. Suse is bidding for the Linux contract together with International Business Machines Corp.

Linux is considered by many to be the only big rival to Microsoft's Windows and can already be found on 15 percent of all computers sold in Western Europe.

A Microsoft spokesman in Munich said his company was still at hand if the city found that certain units could not switch over to Linux. "Some applications do not run on Linux," he said.

 

LINUX GROWING IN GERMANY

The Munich decision comes as the German government is installing Linux throughout certain ministries and public institutions.

In the northern state of Lower Saxony, 11,000 police computers will be switched from Microsoft Windows to Linux from next year, according to the interior ministry.

Companies and governments are increasingly opting for Linux, written by Linus Torvalds and further developed on the Web with the help of thousands of volunteer programmers, because it is a stable software and not controlled by just one company.

Hundreds of companies distribute the software, charging little or nothing for the core software, but taking fees on modifications, services and maintenance.

IBM and Suse declined to give the value of the bids for their Linux offerings.

Media have reported that Microsoft's offer of about 27.3 million euros ($32.3 million) had been almost three million euros below that of the Linux competitor, but the city had still chosen Linux for strategic reasons.

Microsoft confirmed it had offered discounts for the total project, but declined to give details.
--- End quote ---

xyle_one:
this is the third time this has been posted. the first one is here and the one i posted in the linux forum has been trashed.

psyjax:

quote:Originally posted by ecsyle:951:
this is the third time this has been posted. the first one is here and the one i posted in the linux forum has been trashed.
--- End quote ---


Actually this one has a better link to the article (non-bable fish)/

xyle_one:
oh. is there a way to merge threads? that seems like a good feature to have today.

M51DPS:

quote:Originally posted by ecsyle:951:
this is the third time this has been posted. the first one is here and the one i posted in the linux forum has been trashed.
--- End quote ---


Really? Sorry guys. Mine is sort of different just because they have decided to go with Liux while the other was about them sitll deciding, but never mind.

[ May 28, 2003: Message edited by: M51DPS ]

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