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Japan To Do Payroll On Linux
strannik writes "Yahoo/Reuters is reporting that the The Japanese Government will use Linux for it's payroll system. Fujitsu LTD, IBM Japan LTD and OKI Electronic Industry Co. will develop the system by March of 2004. The new system is expected to halve operating costs (to about 350 Billion Yen a year)."
Don't miss the battle of the century! David versus Goliath all over again as we watch SCO vs Japan! Don't miss this apocalyptical match, and it's only on paaay per viewww!
Japanese civil servants will be expected to work for free.
The new system is expected to halve operating costs
aaah, so they move from 32 to 64 bit then ?
(ducks for cover)
When will I end this grieving ? When will my future begin ?
"For the past year, an intense turf battle between Microsoft and vendors of the upstart Linux has been raging as more corporations and government agencies turn to Linux software to run their desktop and network computer systems to cut costs."
Dictionary.com:
ntr.v. upstarted, upstarting, upstarts (p-stärt)
To spring or start up suddenly.
The banner-ad on the right side of my screen reading that article was the Oracle/Unbreakable Penguin ad. Granted Linux has been gaining ground quickly as-of-late, but it's not exactly been an upstart.
I think clearly there is some serious thinking going on in Government circles about Open Source and technology projects. Has anybody looked at the EU guidelines? They've even set up a special body to promote open and interoperable stuff across the EU... More stuff
---- The Open Source Record Label : : LOCARECORDS.COM
They're replacing mainframes, not Windows servers.
RTA...
1. The adoption of the Linux open-source operating system, which can be obtained for free and copied or modified
2. Until now, the Japanese government has relied on expensive large-scale computers for its backbone system. The new system, using lower-priced advanced servers and personal computers, is expected to halve the network's operating costs to around 350 billion yen a year
We regret to inform you that your crass and stupid public remarks regarding the honored and revered Rinux operating system have deeply offended our nation and further disgraced yourself. Here is your tanto. Your retainer Chris Sontag will be standing by with katana to further help you complete your ritual suicide.
Sincerery,
Japan
IAALS.
Is it possible for SCO to sue a country?
No, they're moving from FULL SPEED to HIGH SPEED.
From the article it seems like the Japanese government was running their payroll software on a big proprietary unix system anyway, and was looking to upgrade the underlying system. It is not surprising that they picked Linux to do this - they say one of the reasons for the selection is because the hardware it runs on is cheaper. Maybe they ditched some Sun hardware? Some other vendor?
I'm sure Microsoft wanted them to use their software, but Linux is more likely to win when the competition is another *nix. Microsoft probably couldn't meet the requirements of 'runs old payroll software' or something, no matter how low they could price their software to compete.
This is a win for Linux, but not that big of a win, considering the details of the situation. This hardly indicates an expanding mindshare for the platform, just ability to cannibalize another *nix with its freeness.
It doesn't say in the article that they have been running windows in the past. Just that Microsoft wanted them to use it. Maybe they are already running some *nix variation and already have a knowledgable staff, mass layoffs and new hires would probably cost as much the added expense of nix admins... at least for the short term.
Visualize the world of wine
The problem with BSD is that it doesn't have enough visibility (or at least less visibility that Linux). Why is linux getting all that good press is the real puzzlement.
On a large application / heavy loaded server, it makes no doubt that BSD is a lot better than Linux, but on the desktop the problem is not the same
The huge number of drivers support can partially explain the popularity of Linux on the desktop, and if the MS saga has proven anything, that is desktop leads to server, because it provides a good visibility in everybody's mind.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
Well... first before I get flamed to death, I will note that I am writing from MozillaFirebird on X11 with a lot of nice graphics support (GL, etc).
That being said, however, one of the nice things about 'nix is that you can trim down the graphics or the GUI (as above, not to indicate that linux can't do advanced GUI). With windows, you're looking at the latest OS every now-and-then just to make sure it runs on your hardware... which usually included a bevy of bloated and distasteful GUI crapulence.
Now, for payroll, we're talking money, calculation, etc... a simple GUI (widget-wise, not necessarily design wise) is all that's needed for the client-side. For the server-side, no GUI needed at all... we're just processing more or less straight numerical data, except for strings on names, account ID's, etc.
As always, the beauty of linux is choice. For your accounting system, you can eliminate a lot of headache by not using the unnecessary GUI components. In windows, you often don't have as many options in that direction (except disabling "fade effects" and other silliness).
I fully expect linux to take root and grow within the financial sector more and more as time passes - as long as you don't have MS-only software, there's just no need for an MS Operating System in such an environment.
SCO worker:Captain! We get signal!
Chris Sontag:Main screen turn on!
Japanese dignitary appears, holding Darl McBride captive
Sontag:It's you!
Dignitary:Good evening, gentleman... all your CEOs are belong to us...
IAALS.
I think you may want to look carefully at one of the major vendors that is developing this Linux-based computing system: IBM.
You know, the same IBM that spent over US$1 billion to port Linux over to run on S/390 and AS/400 hardware. In short, the so-called "Linux wins" are mostly due to the fact they're getting IBM big iron computers running Linux.
It's so much easier to put together a cluster of Windows machines when you don't know a lot about it that a cluster of *nix.
.ISO, boot the clients via network or .ISO and presto! A Mosix Cluster!
Not any more! Search google for 'cluster knoppix'. Or go here
It's this simple: boot a server with the
It's a facinating this to turn a Windows network into a temporary Mosix cluster in under an hour. Pull the CD's out and reboot, and your back to Windows. (Or other OS)
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
First off, believe it or not, ANSI C is pretty darned portable
;-))
You've said it! You have to port C code!! Java is cross-platform by design, not portable.
On the other hand, porting C code is just a matter of making sure the library you use on OS A is also ported on OS B. For example porting an X app on windows is not possible (well, you can rewrite your GUI layer, but I don't call that a "portable" app).
With Java, the standard libraries are way more usefull than the common set of C libraries... (especially if you take the common set between *nix and windows
For the PHP/Python/Java/$LANGUAGE I don't really care. But please don't tell me C is portable. Hello world compile on any language. As soon as you start fancy stuff, you're bounded by the library you're using.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
I'd be willing to wager that most of the cost savings will be in manpower, usability, etc, of the home-built software itself. Additionally, unless they're deploying Linux on the exact same hardware that their old system was running on, you can't credit Linux with the operating cost savings.
For example, let's say that they were running the old payroll system on some cluster of Pentium 2 or Pentium 3 machines. Those machines supported X concurrent users. With today's hardware, you can support X concurrent users with half the amount of hardware. Remove half the hardware, and you can potentially remove half your support resources. Congratulations, you've halved your operating costs.
I think "using Linux" is just a side-note to this story. Systems evolve, and get easier to use, more powerful, and require less support, regardless of which operating system they're using.
Yes, C is portable. Java is cross-platform. Difference, and not a subtle one either.
But as far cross platfor:
PHP, Python, Perl, heck they could just about write it in XUL! These are ALL cross-platform. From Macs, to Windows to *BSD to Linux.
I'm sorry, I'm just sick of the Java guys always saying "Why don't they just write it in Java!" as if Java were the only cross-platform language anyone would ever consider using.
You have to look at the requirements of the project before you can even begin to say that you could code it in Java, or C, or any language. Requirements drive the design. They drive the language choice. They drive the platform(s) used. They drive everything. You don't pick Java just 'cause it's "cool."
My journal has hot
...what the underlaying OS is for the system as long as I get my paycheck.
Still, it saddens me somewhat to see that the Norwegian Armed Forces - who pay my paycheck - are going to switch to yet another windowsbased system as they are changing the system for keeping track of the money (Prosjekt GOLF). Off course, I know why too, the entire intranet for the Norwegian Armed Forces (FISbasis) are running Windows NT something or other.. you know, the one that looks like Win98...
On the bright side, it appers that a number of the systems I'm not allowed to talk about, running stuff that I'm not supposed to know about *smiles* in places that don't exist, are running on a somewhat modified and customised Linux, since it's considered a better system with regards to uptime and so forth.
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
The Japanese have had an online bill and payroll system for about 10 years now.
Need to pay your electric bill? Pay it at the bank
Need to pay the phone bill? Pay it at the bank
Most companies in the U.S. are just starting to implement this or worst they are starting to charge for it.
Considering how badly Microsoft treated their Japanese Xbox employees, maybe part of this decision was the Japanese government wanting to part ways with MS?
According to Doripush (rated "excellent"),
"Of course, Fujistu almost certainly offered Solaris first. However the great and the good in the government said 'Yes, well and good but the OS with the most popular appeal is Linux.' So they went for Linux. When offered by three companies, Linux is also easier to swallow."
See the Japanese are not the only ones who can play copycat!
"It's not your information. It's information about you" - John Ford, Vice President, Equifax
They're hoping that this Mozilla creature can do something about their bi-annual Godzilla invasions.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
If you use portable languages and portable GUI toolkits, then the OS itself matters very, very little. You could run a solid payroll application under Windows, OS X, BSD, you name it.
Of course it matters: why would you want to develop and run your application framework on an OS that costs you licensing fees, requires proprietary hardware, has a security track record that resembles swiss cheese, has frequent downtime or requires constant babysitting?
The OS does matter.
Yeah.. But wouldn't you rather carry around 4,190,703,826,736,921.50 Turkish Lira? :D
End of line..