World Govs Choose Linux For Security & More

pjones writes "Government Technology reports that "For reasons of national security and national pride, government officials in countries like China, France and Germany are increasingly adopting the free, open-source computer operating system known as Linux." Noted in the article are China's Red Flag, NSA's Security-Enhanced Linux and much more."

Comments

national pride?

[NeoTomba]

Wow. I can safely say that slashdot is full of microsoft hating linux zealots. Hell, I'm probably one of them.

And every day, you see a million and one reasons why Linux is superior, microsoft sucks, blah blah blah.

But I can safely say, nobody has EVER mentioned "national pride" as the reason Linux is superior.

I suppose it makes sense. If I were from China, I'd hate to use software from America's #1 conglomerate as well, I guess.

Oh, and if anyone can dig up a link to Red Flag Linux... I definately want a copy.

-neotomba

Re:national pride?

[ethereal]

Oh, come on, surely you can put together a better Microsoft troll than that - I've seen you do it in the past :).

Corrupt and powerful governments will act evilly no matter what tools they have, and I don't see how the use of Linux has made their actions much easier. They could just as easily spy on dissidents, etc. with Microsoft products.

And in fact, if you are a dissident in China, it is probably safer for you to download independent Linux sources and compile your own apps, than it is for you to use Microsoft China's products and hope that they haven't added any government-required back doors. The government's standardization on a platform that is available from many independent, non-government-controlled sources besides the official government version is a Good Thing for the people of China.

But hey, to the average Slashbot, torturing political prisoners in concentration camps is preferable to Microsoft, whose only crime is that given the choice, some people like to buy their stuff.

I don't think anyone here is in favor of torturing political prisoners. And I, for one, would love to be given the choice of whether or not to buy Microsoft. Unfortunately, in many cases Microsoft's actions have been concentrated on removing that choice. So I have little sympathy for when they find themselves in a situation where a government has removed them from being a choice - turnabout is fair play, says I.

hmmm

[ArcSecond]

The only question that comes to mind: "Will the U.S. Government now take this as a reason to rally around Microsoft, as a matter of national pride?"

I mean, I'm glad to see the rest of the world smartening up and kicking the MS habit, but unless the U.S. gives up it's vision of a global industry dominated by "their" companies (heh), I don't think they will push alternatives very hard.

Also, how deep are the ties between MS and the present Administration? That will make a big difference in how the Gov't treats MS.

Re:Too bad the US doesn't follow suit....

[Sanity]

Basically, it all comes down to the fact that those in government gets to spend other people's money, and if, in doing so, they can befriend a powerful corporation (who could fund their next election campaign) then all the better!

Re:Could a non-Finish European please...

[Woolfie]

as a non-finnish German I have to deny it and I guess most Finnish Linux contributors also would. As much as I love the Finnish people for their extraordinarily black humour (finnish movies rule!) and their kindness, I think this argument only reflects the view of a non-European. "National pride" and the Open Source spirit don't fit together. Linux is a truly international endavour and I love this fact. If Linux were a reason for "national pride", it would lose most of it's attractivity for me.

Re:good news, but don't cheer to early !

[Master Of Ninja]

Got to agree with you. The NHS (National Health Service) in the UK just linked up with Microsoft to use their software on all their computers. This includes office as well. The article is from BBC News.

The NHS is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) employers in the UK so a deal like this means a massive increase in income for MS - £5 billion according to the article (with discount!).

As the article says medical records need confidentiality and having MS "own" the system required to read it is potentially disasterous. The other computer projects that the NHS has undertaken have not been too great of a success e.g. the "NHSnet" (an internal network) which was buggy and used old protocols instead of using newer email protocols (i.e. they didn't use POP3).

I think that MS one this contract cause they are in bed with president tony (blair). I can't see how it is good for the health service if every machine is ms-dependent. They really should have tried splitting the system between different contractors (ms could still be involved) so that there is redundancy in the system. The thing is everybody attack IIS systems, and for some reason I think it will be a major hassle trying to locate and patch every single server the NHS has.

more links
500,000 winxp licenses for Uk.gov
NHS email system not working
Gates talks to NHS managers about using ms products
Doctors forced to use Hotmail for confidential medical records

Re:Too bad the US doesn't follow suit....

[Yggsson]

While I don't doubt that supporting a US corporation could be a factor, there are also other forces at play. When the U.S. Department of State was planning a world-wide network, the original specs were software independent. However, once those specs were passed to consultants, the MS suite of software was specified. The result is a system that is a nightmare to manage and difficult intergration between Windows NT/2000 systems and existing Unix systems. They have invested millions of dollars in training and supporting this network and it is unlikely that they will change now even though Linux would be a MUCH better solution.

US government is a large linux contributor

[Jeppe Salvesen]

Lots of US government agencies use Linux for various purposed. NASA uses it. NSA is developing their own hardened distrobution. Etc.

What's important is that we continue to provide them with a good Linux experience. Treat US government employees like royalty in newsgroups etc(when they ask about linux), and we just might increase our brainshare and marketshare.