Good Samaritans Choose Linux

blowdart writes "According to this article on the BBC news site the charity Samaritans has chosen Linux to provide it with more secure and powerful computer systems. The installation was supplied by Trustix with IBM providing network security. 'One of the great challenges for computing in any charity is to provide more for less,' said Mike Hermon, Information Systems Manager at Samaritans. According to the Trustix press release the installation is limited to security hardware only, "Samaritans is installing a four zone Trustix Firewall on an IBM eServer x305 and a Trustix Proxy Server on an IBM eServer x300 server.'" Oddly enough, today's Word A Day is Good Samaritan.

Comments

This is good

[rickthewizkid]

This is good because the money that they save in Microsoft licenses will go to their charitable work. Of course, one hopes that they have a Linux expert (or at least somoene who knows what they are doing) on staff or they might spend too much on support calls.

-Rick

Internal networks in charities

[Blacklaw]

This is one of the places I can see FOSS (including GNU/Linux) really making a difference. Nothing The Samaritans does goes outside the organisation - they don't offer training, they don't do work for other people, they just use the computers to run their charity.

And that's just blown 99.9% of the arguments for keeping Windows on the desktop out of the water.

If the support is there, and it's done intelligently, then this is a brilliant move that all similar charities should seriously think about adopting - especially if they're just setting up and haven't paid any money out for Microsoft Open Licensing yet.

-Blacklaw

Re:Internal networks in charities

[Blacklaw]

It's true that TS have just implemented a pair of servers running Linux at the moment. But if GNU/Linux is going to break into the desktop market *anywhere* other than in the homes of a few techies, then it's going to be here.

They've already shown a willingness to try FOSS solutions, and I think it very likely that the next call centre that gets set up (especially if it is outside the UK/US) will be running GNU/Linux on the desktop.

It's a blow for the Open Source boys that TS are still using Windows on the desktop, but that's probably simply because they've already paid for it. If you've just shelled out £200 per computer for an operating system, you don't turn around and say "Right! Let's ditch it and install a free version instead!". It's the same reason why any attempt on my part to get a few machines switched over to Linux (to give the kids experience of other operating systems) have been met with apathy and, from the beancounters, fear.

-Blacklaw

/. sensationalism

[Anonymous Coward]

Headline:

Good Samaritans Choose Linux

First sentence (all the ADHD infliced slashbots can read before posting drivel about great wins for Linux:

According to this article on the BC news site the charity Samaritans has chosen Linux to provide it with more secure and powerful computer systems.

Final sentence (and the crux of the article):

Samaritans is installing a four zone Trustix Firewall on an IBM eServer x305 and a Trustix Proxy Server on an IBM eServer x300 server.

How is some organization implementing a Linux firewall/proxy server earth shattering news?

Re:/. sensationalism

[blowdart]

Actually no.

As a new article is posted in a section, the front page is update to have that article in it. So whatever acrticle is newest in Technology will be in the Technology section of the front page.

linux market share

[griffinp]

[Linux] now accounts for one quarter of operating systems sold worldwide. Wow, that's pretty high. Anybody know where their numbers are coming from?

Re:But the Samaritans take their name from the Bib

[blane.bramble]

No, but they take there ethos from a biblical story about someone who was good even though he wasn't of the same set of beliefs as the storyteller or audience.

Another one...

[Flamesplash]

This type of story is becoming simply repetetive. /. should just have a side page that lists all the articles covering people converting from or choosing linux over Windows. Every single story doesn't belong on the main page. Same goes for the "So in so has this report that Windows is cheaper than Linux" and vice versa. After a while it just becomes noise.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Is this news?

[TrollBridge]

Besides the appropriateness of a charitable organization using an OS that doesn't cost them anything, why is this news?

For that matter, why is it news(worthy) when any company/organization chooses Linux? Just about every day I see one of these "Some Company/Organization Chooses Linux" stories. Is Linux in such a bad state that Slashdot needs to publicize everybody who decides to use it?