[NBLUG/talk] The Wall.... is coming down...

[Paul Larkin]

Realizing that this may sound a little presumptuous, condescending 
and all that negative stuff on first sight, (but it isn't):  It seems 
to me that the big task will be to keep the Munich users and MIS (or 
whatever it's called) satisfied so that when it's time to review how 
Linux has done, and renew any contracts, they are more than happy to 
stay with Linux. There will be bugs, it's different than Windows, and 
it's a change. I think NBLUG should make itself known to Munich, to 
offer to answer any users' questions the group could.  An added 
positive would be the contrast such an offer would be, compared to 
what our current "elected" administration is doing to endear us all 
to the rest of the world.

On 5/28/03, Mark Street wrote:
>All right, so it isn't Berlin.......  No wonder Ballmer sold off a billion
>worth of MS stock last week.
>
>Microsoft Loses City of Munich Deal to Linux
>Wed May 28, 2003 12:38 PM ET
>By Hans Nagl
>
>MUNICH (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 toward 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.
>--
>Mark Street, D.C.
>Red Hat Certified Engineer
>Cert# 807302251406074
>--
>Key fingerprint = 3949 39E4 6317 7C3C 023E  2B1F 6FB3 06E7 D109 56C0
>GPG key http://www.streetchiro.com/pubkey.asc
>
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-- 
Paul