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Lower Saxony KDE Migration
An anonymous reader writes "ZDNet reports on a recent German Linux migration by the tax authority in Lower Saxony which has made the decision to migrate an impressive 12,000 desktops to SuSE Linux using KDE. The project, which is now in process converting 300 desktops daily, moves systems from Solaris x86 version 8, which the organisation has been running since 2002. The migrations are reported as going well thus far. KDE's Kiosk desktop customisation, source code access and licensing costs were cited as key reasons for the decision. Congratulations to all involved, and best of luck going forward with this effort!"
It's pretty easy to migrate from Solaris.
If we start hearing about big Win32 -> *nix migrations, THEN maybe we can say kill -9 to billy boy...
But more importantly, it's telling that we're not hearing about good, honest, honorable American migrations. We know all about Germans and the so-called "sport" they are hosting for the so-called "world"... and in any case, we know Linux isn't as reliable as Windows yet...
Isn't it the naming convention that all programs starting with a G are Gnome based? Well, it ain't Kermany...
before you start picking at the K naming thing, remember that Apple does the same with the "i", think iPod, iCal, iBook and Microsoft with well "Microsoft" word, excel etc and of course Gnome with the "G". So KDE is not alone here plus if you think about it, K is kinda Kool :P
download and burn linux with one click on windows
Ok it's cool that people are moving to Linux, but on the other hand its not a migration from windows or mac, so it is not exactly evidence that Linux is ready for the desktop yet either.
Philosophy.
So are the Saxons going to do this rollout on Wheels of Steel?
"Freely accessible sources, no license costs as well as optimum support of current hardware."
I thought, I'd never live long enough to see the day someone will ever say this... Look away, it's just some dust in my eyes...
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
Slashdot new design doesn't work with konqueror and I heard with Safari either. What a shame for a news for nerd site. I hope they'll fix this.
download and burn linux with one click on windows
unix -> linux is not news, it happens all the time.
windows -> linux isn't really news either, but it's still nice to have more stuff in the "linux is ready for the desktop" column
back in the 90's, Linux is ignored and I became a laughing stock in University. Now who's laughing now? What we've been deprieved before is freedom, now that freedom is back.
For those that don't know about KDE, it was started by a German guy and most KDE users and devs live in Germany (though it's now popular in other countries too), also Suse was German and used KDE as its main desktop. So lots of people are pushing KDE there just like they did at Munich and now in Lower Saxony.
I will be surprised when some country in Asia or America that is not known for its KDE community decides to switch to KDE.
That being said, it's of course great that did it in Germany.
download and burn linux with one click on windows
While I haven't used SuSE since 1998 or so, its nice to see they're coming along. One thing I take note of is the mention of "licensing costs were cited as key reasons for the decision.". I think there are many here who will take a "it's free!" approach to that statement, and that is not necessarily the case. Sure there are tons of free programs available, but most are forgetting the SuSE/Novell issue where SuSE isn't entirely as free as say CentOS, Ubuntu, FreeBSD, etc., there are some minor caveats, OpenExchange, etc. As for replacing x86Sol, I've never taken x86Sol seriously. If you ask me it was unstable, riddled with hardware issues, and had more security issues then Solaris on a Sparc.
I'd thought of installing SuSE using OpenExchange because of the cost factor when I worked at a smaller company but I found I could do just as good using an alternative so I ended up installing CentOS webservers, proxy servers, Solaris 10 for mail and LDAP on a v280, and ended up configuring a nicely equipped intranet for under 5k. I wound up going open source for most tools, e.g. DotProject replaced MS Project server and saved about 4k. SugarCRM replaced SuradoCRM at about 8k. CentOS replaced MS Windows SMB 2003 for about another 4k. I saved the company a lot of money but ended up to my neck in work. Was pretty neat to get things going, and I had originally wanted to use SuSE before they started selling seats for OpenExchange. Its always nice though to see the distros moving up... Right now, I'm back into the telco/communications (VoIP arena to be exact) and I was lucky enough to be in a Linux shop with flexibility to use what we feel gets the job done right... Not what magazines and researchers often sponsored by MS point to as "the perfect solution"
Infiltrated dot Net
-1 Troll seems harsh, almost as if some crackpipe-wielding mod was too quick to judge. The 'Linux isn't as reliable as Windows' link could've come from the Paul Thurrot Supersite and should definitely provide light relief to Linux zealots of whatever denomination. I laughed anyway and I don't particularly care for Linux that much.
The new /. CSS on IE7b2-x64 is also slower than two snails making snoo snoo in the missionary position. IE6-x64 runs just fine here and elsewhere. I feel like a t-rex in the LaBrea tar pits running any firefox bit version (on Win or Ubuntu) too. I only recently installed XP-x64 after running various flavs of linux *exclusively* for the past 7 years (no window dual booting). I miss amarok and KDE, but this XP-x64 makes all linux flavs look like it's little bitch. I find myself slowly migrating back to windows after all these years because of it, and no linux distro can crank out an x64 desktop worth a flying paper sack of flaming shit. I hope it lands on Linus' doorstep.
When I finally find an XP-x64 amarok alternative, I think I'll finally make a pilgramage to Redmond and give 'ole Billy boy a big 'ole hug. Stupid amarok devs say they won't port to Windows. Well, check dis out foo's; I got Visual Studio C# wif SQL (all express versions for free) and will port my own. Put dat in yo pipes and smoke it biatches!
I see a couple of things happening though...
1. KDE is not a stable desktop. Yes Yes stop turning red, I mean it is not stable like CDE is stable. This could lead to frustration among 12,000 users that were used to probably the most stable OS (sol 8 is a rock), using an insanely boring and stable desktop (CDE).
2. Now that these people will be able to do all the cool things you can do with a modern unix and KDE, the IT people are going to go crazy
and have to hire more people and work mucho overtime.
"Did you notice you've been using linux all this time?"
"no."
"Well, that's KDE running on SuSE. When did they switch?"
"I don't know. They switched what now? Who's Katie?"
I asked her colleagues in the English department if they knew when the switch took place. No one noticed it. SD loves to have debates about whether *nix is ready to replace windows for the everyday user. Ok, so maybe joe schmo or the proverbial English-major girlfriend (or boyfriend) wouldn't be able to install Ubuntu or SuSE, but if it's there, they can use it. There's a lot of money to be saved on public terminals for general use.
I'll bite. My Fedora Core 4 x86-64 box works absolutely perfectly for me, and identically to the FC4 i386 box that sits next to it.
More lies, surely? Mark Kretschmann, one of the Amarok leads, recently wrote:
Also, I like the way you show your appreciation for their work on a media player you obviously like by calling them "stupid". I'm sure it would make them feel really good about sharing their work with you.
Pirate Party UK
4) Amarok is intended to be a software for all desktops, not just KDE.
He was speaking "all desktops" as in "kde, gnome, enlightenment", etc. IIRC there is no version in planning at all for WinToys
I tried to install OS X recently on my Thinkpad and it failed to detect any of the hardware. OS X is simply not ready for the desktop.
Sun lost 12000 desktops. That does not mean that "in a way" Microsoft lost them too. Apple did not lose them and neither did Red Hat. Obviously IBM and HP were closer than anyone to "losing" them with their competing UNIX RISC workstations. The availability of Xfree86 in the 1990s meant that Linux was ready for the desktop at any subsequent point to replace proprietary workstations and X terminals, particularly x86 based UNIX. A Linux desktop is cheaper than Windows and Hummingbird as an XTERM. Apple and MS had a big uphill battle in this scenario to gain enough ground to consider this "lost."
Have you Meta Moderated t
My browser dies totally when trying to view comments on slashdot, so I have to fire up firefox to check slashdot, sucks.
... would be if they started porting their, already free of charge, income tax return software to linux (elster).
"Nae Kin! Nae Quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna be fooled again!"
And I speak as a former VAX/VMS user. I have managed to crash VMS with a bug in a callback function in a Motif application I wrote, but I have never found a way to crash KDE. And when I say "crash VMS" I mean crash the system in a way that nobody else could log in, they couldn't even get a login prompt in a VT-100 terminal.
OK, I know, you mentioned CDE, not VMS, but VAX/VMS was that other legendary "impossible to crash" system, yet it wasn't as stable as Linux/KDE is today.
"He was speaking "all desktops" as in "kde, gnome, enlightenment", etc. IIRC there is no version in planning at all for WinToys"
.-.-.-.-.-
You're wrong, dude! Look here:
First Day KDE 4 Multimedia Meeting:"Max Howell talked about moving to amaroK 2 and the Windows port that will come with that."
I hate KDE because it uses QT. A tool that enforces your resulting work to be free doesnot really feel likes a free tool. I am all for libraries using LGPL, as it was previously named "Library GPL". I lost my respect for Stallman when he started preaching people to use GPL for libraries. If people followed this nuttery it would be increasingly difficult to run any commercial software in linux.
You got laughed at for espousing Linux in the 1990s because, to be frank, Linux sucked as a desktop system back then. It hasn't been until around early 2004 or thereabouts that it's been a feasible option for your typical user.
Migrating from Sun's OS to any Linux is not really news. If it was 12,000 Windows machines with Office, SharePoint etc etc then it would be newsworthy.
For that to happen though there'd have to be a single linux for desktops, and that's about as likely as Elton John getting a female wife.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
"While I haven't used SuSE since 1998 or so, its nice to see they're coming along"
.. not ready yet ..
:)
.. I ended up installing CentOS .. Solaris .. LDAP .. DotProject .. SugarCRM .. I saved the company a lot of money but ended up to my neck in work."
.. ;)
I like SuSE I really do but
One thing I take note of is the mention of "licensing costs were cited as key reasons for the decision.". I think there are many here who will take a "it's free!" approach to that statement, and that is not necessarily the case.
Well what was actually said was the primary reasons were increased flexibility, enhanced usability and reduced training and support costs and secondarily freely accessible sources, no license costs and optimum support of current hardware.
So that would make licensing costs next to last, near to support of current hardware.
"most are forgetting the SuSE/Novell issue where SuSE isn't entirely as free as say CentOS, Ubuntu, FreeBSD, etc.,
I'm sorry SuSE can be downloaded from the site without restriction. What you do pay for is support an entirely different thing. Do you get free support for these others?
"I've never taken x86Sol seriously. If you ask me it was unstable, riddled with hardware issues"
SuSE only looks good as compared to Solaris 2002
"I'd thought of installing SuSE using OpenExchange because of the cost factor when I worked at a smaller company
Does SuSE offer anything else apart from the cost factor? How about enhanced usability, reduced support costs and better security.
As for more work, do you mean at installation time or day to day maintenence. The article specifically cites Saxony as referring to reduced support costs yet your experience is the exact opposite. How curious as my understanding that nix requires less work to install and virtually none for day to day maintenence - baring a hardware failure that is.
What kind of enterprise are you solely responciple for that is running you off your feet, NASA? and that only saved the company $16,000 per anum, the average salary of a Windows certified professional.? Saxony can get by with most of the PCs runing in kiosk mode.
"I had originally wanted to use SuSE before they started selling seats for OpenExchange"
You only buy a support license for the number of seats and you damn well know it
"Its always nice though to see the distros moving up"
Up to where? You can't get anymore upper that SuSE 10.1 on 64 bit hardware.
davecb5620@gmail.com