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IBM Germany Leaving Vista for Linux
UltimaGuy writes "During a presentation on IBM's involvement with Open Source, Andreas Pleschek from IBM in Stuttgart, Germany, who heads open source and Linux technical sales across North East Europe for IBM made a very interesting statement..."Andreas Pleschek also told that IBM has cancelled their contract with Microsoft as of October this year. That means that IBM will not use Windows Vista for their desktops. Beginning from July, IBM employees will begin using IBM Workplace on their new, Red Hat-based platform. Not all at once - some will keep using their present Windows versions for a while. But none will upgrade to Vista." "
If IBM is not going to move to Windows Vista, does that mean that more people will see some more of the advantages of moving to Linux?
I encrypt all my files with Double XOR Encryption!
That's my question too! Why RedHat? SuSE, in my opinion, is better than RedHat both on the server and desktop. This is not to say it (SuSE) has no issues at all. I find that its YaST is too slow and looks ancient, not to mention the fact that it will run through all those config scripts even when no configuration is changed at all!
We have seen that the open-document-format take hold, and now the big iron is pulling away from MS, shortly after. Given some more time, I think that we will see this trend continue. We will see more and more with ODF, taking MS's place. Even to the point of having document converters, to go from .docto .odf. This also the time to see the movement of the massess to a linux environment. I think you will see tax-programs, et al. moving because of the ODF as well.
I think that there will be a lot of script-style viri as well that will go throuigh everyones documents, ala the excell virus. The only reason that all this stuff didnt happen on larger scale, was because of the different formats.
But if every Joe-Linux Distro includeed a nice easy-top-use office, and all that, it would be easier to switch.
MS will become another smaller company.. It's innovations were in the 90s. Im ure that they will keep up for some time.. But this is a huge financial blow to them.
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them.
Its BS to say that "no one will upgrade" to Vista. Are you telling me that software developers will not be using Vista at all? It's a ridiculous notion for a company that develops hundreds of products for the Windows OS.
Most IBM slavelings don't care about windows vis redhat vis suse, if only they would dump Lotus notes client everybody would be a lot happier.
Old COBOL programmers never die. They just code in C.
Great news, it's about time that someone started rolling Linux out onto the Desktop in a large enterprise.
:)
Someone has to be the beta tester!
-={ Security does not exist - give up }=-
Either is compelling as a statement from Big Blue
IBM's CIO has already made clear that IBM's direction for its employees' desktops is Linux. Back in 2004 he released a statement that IBM would standardize on Linux desktops by the end of 2005, but it was quickly realized that was too ambitious a goal. There's just too much stuff in IBM that is tied to Windows. Still, it's widely recognized that Linux *is* the direction, worldwide, even if there isn't a specific timeline in place.
As an IBMer who uses Linux as his desktop platform for work, I read these sorts of announcements with glee because they just reinforce the message internally that new internal IT systems should not require Windows and that old ones that do require Windows need to be replaced. At present I still have to keep a Win2K VMware image around to deal with the occasional Windows-specific internal tools, and to deal with the occasional Office doc that OOo can't manage. As more groups within IBM move more aggressively away from Windows, however, I expect to need that image less and less, and someday I won't need it at all.
ObDisclaimer: I'm an IBM employee, but not a spokesperson. Everything I've said about IBM's plans and policies is just my vague memories of publicly-released information. If you find official statements that contradict mine, I'm wrong.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
>Now look at IBM -- for them to base their business around Vista would make them *completely* under the control of Microsoft.
Note that this applies to All users of Vista, not just IBM.
Just in case you were thinking of upgrading.....
43 - For those who require slightly more than the answer to life, the universe and everything.
There's no way that IBM can convert to Linux until it has ported Lotus Notes. So far, employees using Linux have to run Notes using Wine. It is not very stable and some functions don't work. Until I see a Linux port, I won't believe this news.
IBM could do this now, there's a Security chip in most IBM laptops, Heck, the security tech used in TCPA was Developed by IBM
It would be suicide for them to drop MS, because everyone and their uncle will just switch to Dell, and they know it. He's probably talking about what they are doing internally at IBM, which I wouldn't be surprised if it was running AIX or some in house mainframe system.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
The problem for any corporation updating to Vista is that you rather have to replace most of your hardware along the way as well.
And upgrade your memory. Over on The Inquirer they're reporting that Vista consumes 800MB of RAM while idling. This is absolutely insane to someone who first started using computers in the early 1970's. There just isn't that much stuff that an Operating System should be doing. And yes, that really is 3X XP's current requirements, the thought of which certainly is warming Intel's little heart.
Seems to me if MS wants to keep IBM in the fold they should be offering to buy them all new desktops.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Just because they have to support companys with messed-up infrastructure does not mean that they have to mess their own up as well. Why does a salesperson, or an executive secretary need to run any M$ stuff vs. IBM's workspace? Why would IBM want to run M$ DNS/DHCP/IIS/ISA for their infrastructure when they have superior products of their own?
"rsh"? Me strongly thinks you should switch to using "ssh" for that.
The top level post was a clear enough question regarding business relationships, but one level down the argument already is about which distro is better.
... big ass discount. It's almost like telling MS, give us a better price, or will switch. And of course MS will go as low as possible to prevent a switch. And IBM saves.
please excuse my apathy
So, why does it matter that it's Redhat instead of SuSE or any of the other 100+ distros? Looking at the bigger picture, it would seem GNU/Linux is advancing. Isn't that more important than the particular distro?
They have, the new client is called Hannover named after the location of the IBM technical forum where it was first announced:
http://www.edbrill.com/ebrill/edbrill.nsf/dx/hanno ver----announcing-the-next-post-7.0-version-of-lot us-notes
It is based on the Java Eclipse RCP (Rich Client Platform) used by Workplace the Notes C++ code has been rewritten as an Eclipse plugin. The code can then be compiled to work on any platform that eclipse runs on; Linux, AIX , Mac OSX and Windows. I think the next Notes client release which will be based on Hannover is due later this year as Notes V7.0.
Yah, but even though I'm pretty much one of those "Speak English or Die!" types when on American soil, I still have no problem with getting content in German from a German server.
Just when I go to Mexico, I do my best to speak Spanish (It's very bad, I read Spanish much better than I speak it), and don't expect signs to be in English down there.
I just wish we got the same consideration when Mexicans come to the US. (There's a billboard a couple blocks from my house that is in 100% Spanish. Complete bullshit if you ask me. As you said "This is America!")
But, getting pissed because a German web server does not have English content is assine.
IBM is aiming for platform agnostic software client, side with anything new based on the the Eclipse RCP (Rich Client Platform) using Java as with IBM Workplace. The client side applications they produce will run on Linux, AIX, Mac OSX AND Windows
>There's no way that IBM can convert to Linux until it has ported Lotus Notes.
IBM Workplace has Notes client plugin. 2.6 is nice and fast too.
Shouldn't your subject be "WHY THIS IS NEWS!!" ???
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IMO, this is a VERY smart move for IBM, and at the right time and place.
Vista is what, maybe 60+% towards the point of 'ACTUAL' release date? IBM did this before they tied themselves into what I can only imagine as millions in licensing for Vista across its employee desktops. They have apparently been working on getting Lotus Notes feasibly function on Linux w/ Eclipse, according to other sources, which I guess was a last hurdle for them internally
So you save money on licensing, INDEFINATELY, have a product that is viable to the market which you use for your own massive company, and all things being equal, can persuade other Large corps. to look into and possibly sell them on.
As far as expenditures in this move, it would be programming and support, but since they have gotten to this point, its already been factored.
I imagine many people who keep up on these things new it was coming, but to see it hit the mainstream and the public consumption, this WILL shake other trees in the Market, and IT sectors.
IBM seems to be a mover of late, and are constantly getting headlines (headlines have some value as that is there function). Perhaps its time to buy some stock
Somehow I imagine IBM and Lenovo will work out a deal to purchase PCs without Vista. You don't think IBM buys desktop systems and laptops from Dell, do you?
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
All IBM sold Lenovo was the Laptop and Desktop lines. They still own a lot of the technology behind the systems, such as the TCPA technology, and you can bet it's in their Workstations and Servers because it's an added value that the man with a plaid suit and Big teeth can sell to the Pointy haired boss.
Thats why they are working with Red Hat, Because they want Red Hat to take advantage of the encryption and added security the chip brings.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
Well, it's the US where they're passing laws which make DRM legal (something that forbids me from choosing freely what product I want to buy, ej: you can't listen itunes song in any music player except in a ipod) or software patents (something that allows big companies to sit and sell licenses and win money without innovating anything or even trying to do better products)
It'd seem that US is not very interested in high-tech or software anymore, they just want to make shareholders happy with short-term operations by finding methods to monetize all what they have done in the past decades, without caring about the future at all, I guess that open source isn't that appealing in those market models.
A region from Spain, Extremadura, uses open source everywhere from schools to the machines in local-government buildings. It's not a very rich region but they want a different future, unlike the US
For the record, Discussions like this happen in the Windows world as well (although it's about version) ...
1: "2003 Server?"
2: "I'ld rather install 2000 AS"
3: "AS? It'll be a database, why not 2003 DataCenter?"
and so on