Germany, IBM Sign Major Linux Deal

Skip Franklin writes: "IBM and the German government are getting together to implement Linux as the government's computing platform of choice. The deal is being touted as a big blow to Microsoft, although personally I prefer the glass-half-full perspective of a big win for Open Source. The BBC has the story."

Comments

The last part is the best bit

[seldolivaw]

Not alone

Mexico, for instance, has mandated open source in its education system - although it is widely believed to have botched the implementation. And Peru is considering a law mandating open source software.

Microsoft wrote protesting about the law and warning of collapsing software markets and portraying a nightmare scenario of incompatibility. But the answer - from a Peruvian congressman - refuted the letter point by point.

Hee hee! Viva la revolution! :-) There does seem to be an encouraging trend towards the use of Linux by big institutions and governments. And since people tend to "buy what they know" perhaps we will see a top-down pattern to Linux usage -- companies first, and then their employees at home -- rather than the bottom-up approach everyone seems to be expecting.

Not so sure

[einhverfr]

I am not sure I agree with the Open Source vs Microsoft paradigm that everyone seems so caught up in. I think that people pick on Microsoft because they are big and visible, but no one picks on Adobe, or any of a number of large closed source companies when they lose contracts.

I think that there will always be some areas where closed source software is the best option (OrCAD being a good example), but many other areas are ones where open source simply is a better model of development-- operating systems, office productifity apps, some games, dev environments, etc. (there will always be closed source games, I think, though).

This is significant because it indicates that the Germans are making the very logical choices with regard to security (not trusting a foreign company), etc. and shows that open source IS the best solution in many cases.

Re:Flawed argument

[shaper]

From the article:

"We are raising computer security by avoiding a monoculture, and we are lowering dependence on a single supplier," he said in a statement."

and the poster commented:

This is not really a valid argument, since all systems need to be secure. More systems, more potentially open doors.

No. Diversity in computing paltforms (in a very general sense) increases total, overall security, especially to automated attacks, e.g. worms and viruses.

For example, in a network of 50% Windows and 50% Linux, a windows virus can directly infect only 50% of the systems. In a network of equal numbers of Windows, Linux and BSD, one of these new hybrid Win/Linux viruses will be unable to directly infect one third of the systems. And the rule goes both ways. Windows boxes will be untouched by Linux worms that use Unix-style features like sendmail and portmap remote exploits.

Even for non-automated attacks, some level of diversity is more secure. The potentially successful cracker has to know not one, but at least two or more attack methods to be able to get at all boxes in an overall system that contains a mix of Windows, Linux, BSD, Irix, VMS or whatever.

Suggestion

[justsomebody]

"Any policy that favours one thing over another isn't helpful," a Microsoft Europe spokeswoman told the Journal.

"It limits choice rather than increasing choice."

I think it's time to proclaim this Microsoft representative a troll. Two way reality is "their monopoly is greatest tendency to achieve what he says it isn't good in this case".

By the way, I don't recall they would say anything good about any other platform or software. They are always favouring their side and limiting choices with their "Security by obscurity" and closed formats.

Well, things you say must really depend on one fact "Who got it and who hasn't"

Re:SUSE

[MrResistor]

IBM offers SuSE on their servers, which, according to people who have actually read the article, is exactly what the Germans are buying. Red Hat is the default Linux for IBM servers, but several other options are available. It's quite likely, actually, that SuSE will have a share of the support contract, and so will benefit quite a bit from this, if not as visibly as IBM will.