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Japanese Government to Move to OSS
An anonymous reader writes "Linuxworld has up an article on the Japanese government's plan to reduce its reliance on a single IT vendor by moving to open source software. 'Oracle, NEC, IBM, HP, Hitachi and Dell are among 10 IT equipment and software vendors that are forming a consortium to develop and sell Linux-based servers and computers for the Japanese market. The move by the vendors to collaborate on Linux in Japan comes from a edict from the country's government to make Linux and open source a priority for all IT procurements, starting this July.' The government has said explicitly it wants to decrease its reliance on Microsoft as a server operating system platform."
I for one am welcomming our new rinux lunning overlords. Banzai!!!
Will code for new sig.
No wonder Microsoft is scared and trying to pull FOSS patent issues out of their sleeve. They really do need to hang on to their existing customers with their bare teeth... competing with products seems to be something they are unable to do these days (well, ever, really).
That explains the timing of Microsoft Saber rattling. One thing they forget is that it is 50+ times harder to get a patent in Japan compared to a patent in the US and many of those patents do not hold there. Unless they have decided to stop contesting the ATT verdict and turn it to their gross advantage. Hm... If a quick settlement of the ATT case follows it will definitely get curiouser and curiouser...
The other curious point is that some of the usual OSS Japanese suspects are strangely missing. Sony and NTT have many years of history of BSD investment. Both of them do not appear on the list and there are quite a few "foreign devils". Curiouser and curiouser...
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
The beginning of the end, this is.
But the Empire will wake up, and strike back. Unclear the future is.
Ciao ciao Micro$oft!
The government has said explicitly it wants to decrease its reliance on Microsoft as a server operating system platform.
These are the exact magic words one needs to say to get a HUGE discounts from Microsoft.
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
The concepts of not putting all you eggs in one basket, and one size does not fit all apply here. I'm fairly confident that there is enough interest and use for technology that economies can't support more than one operating system. An each of those operating systems will do some thing well and some things poorly.
Windows, GNU/Linux, & Apple systems each serve a different set of needs, and therefore each will continue to exist as long as they continue to meet the demand. Which, not coincidently, is exactly what the companies listed in the article are doing, responding to a economic demand and opportunity.
Mr.Nakamuna says japanese not scared! not scared microsoft!
Did you see the Japanese President (or prime ministers) website, he's a Linux freak like us :)
I wonder if in the US the number of FOSS supporters exceeds the number of voters.
Time for US politicians to jump on the FOSS bandwagon.
Microsoft should now list exactly which patents it is referring to, and how the Linux kernel infringes upon them. At worst, the Linux team can then rewrite the offending code so that it no longer infringes.
However I am deeply sceptical of this whole claim, and find it very suspicious that Microsoft has not given any details but prefers to stick to vague sabre-rattling. Until specifics are published, we will have to conclude that Microsoft is merely bluffing: trying to frighten off the weaker and less determined Linux users by the threat of legal action.
At a technical level, it is always possible that any given piece of code infringes upon someone's patents. But how likely is it in this case? Consider that Linux is essentially a clean-room rewrite of Unix, whose design dates from 1970 and the following years. Now recall that, after the original Windows turned out to be too unreliable a foundation, Microsoft hired some ex-DEC software engineers in the early 1990s, leading to the creation of Windows NT - whose similarity to OpenVMS is overwhelmingly obvious and quite undeniable. All subsequent versions of Windows have been based on the same core infrastructure inherited from NT.
So, how likely is it that an OS based on designs that go back to 1970 copies anything from an OS written in the early 1990s, and which borrowed heavily from a third OS written in the late 1970s?
In closing, I have a couple of other questions.
1. How much brass neck does it take for a company like Microsoft to accuse anyone else of infringing on its patents, given Microsoft's own track record of systematically taking other people's ideas and incorporating them in its products without payment or even acknowledgement? One could accurately sum up Microsoft's history as a process of taking ideas whose inventors have failed to capitalize on them, and turning them into revenue.
2. When can we hope for HP, which has presumably inherited DEC's patents and copyrights, to threaten Microsoft with legal action?
Unfortunately both of these questions are purely rhetorical.
I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
A survey conducted just one month ago showed that barely one percent of public sector employees used Linux, despite the Japan Information-technology Promotion Agency spending untold millions on feasibility studies over the last two or more years.
I think an overly PC mod had a bit of a kneejerk reaction here...
Kudos to the Japanese. I find myself asking if America could stage a conversion of this sort at this time? Hmmm... probably not.
How about another sort of conversion... say trying to implement an affordable healthcare system? Hell, I would love to be able to afford health insurace.
How about a more thouroughly reviewed/reviewable patent system, not just for software, but across the board?
Most other 'first world' nations have these things. Their implementations differ. Some work better than others.
All of these issues are related.
If you can cite a reason that America lacks these things other than special interest profit motive I would love to hear it. Maybe you could also apply that reason to my governments consistent resistance to acknowledging human influenced environmental change (many highly placed officials deny it exists!)
Congratulations to the Japanese for joining the ranks of countries taking measures to fortify and secure their information systems through diversification. Not to be unpatriotic or anything, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that this move and others like it will do serious harm to certain American companies, and force some true competition for government contracts here in the states.
Regards.
Pay close attention before you go running off to the front office. The vendors are doing this - not the buyers/clients/users. In Japan, the vendors tell the buyers what and when they will buy. Say it with me: v e n d o r s
But once they decide, it is done, they don't look back.
I once worked for Fujitsu, so I know. Once the Japanese government and major companies embark on the open-source bandwagon, they will become sharp warriors against Microsoft. It may bring Microsoft Japan down by sheer popular pressure. The people go with the government there. This decision may become even a new theme for the comic books (manga) that they read on their way to work, so the people will learn quickly about the new status quo.
From the article:
The government is a (very large) consumer, this (very large) consumer says that is will spend ten billions on mostly Linux based infrastructure. Not surprisingly, the vendors try to bid into this very large order.
'Oracle, NEC, IBM, HP, Hitachi and Dell are among 10 IT equipment and software vendors that are forming a consortium to develop and sell Linux-based servers and computers for the Japanese market.
With the possible exception of IBM... all the other vendors above are the worst offenders when it comes to NOT promoting choice, adherence to standards, avoiding vendor-lockins etc. which is what the Open Source philosophy is all about. These vendors have Linux offerings and Open Source partnerships more as a PR exercise, than to promote the Open Source philosophy. Even IBM still maintains separate Linux and AIX offerings... and still maintains ambivalence over it's future... whether it will have 2 separate OSes or just AIX or Linux.
Does not bode well for Open Source in Japan, I guess. RedHat might've made a big impact, but it's not listed.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
Come to see What Oracle Japan said about this news(ja_JP)
They say "Though we are strong supporters of Linux,No such alliance are planned.Recent nikkei article is wrong"
You think the unitary Japanese govt. knows dry rice about software, Grasshopper? ...no chance. You want to know what the boys in the diet DO know about? Nationalism.
The Japanese Govt. had yet another nationalistic fit (that's what they do - that's their job - happens to be one of their standing orders.), and what you're relying on for your FTA is the press release to mask the flag waving ("The government has said explicitly it wants to decrease its reliance on Microsoft as a server operating system platform." - nice translation & spin by the PR wonks, have to admit).
The Japanese Govt. asked around why they couldn't hello-kitty-pretty-please have a Japanese OS from a Japanese software company, written by Japanese countrymen/women, and there was only one answer, no matter what they wanted to hear or have. At the least, then, they could make sure they weren't supporting a singularity - they hate having to get up in the morning and have a pure non-J anything stare back just so they can check their email. So, next-best-thing... they give the boot to a product from a non-domestic supplier - the only choice left then, was OSS (a mixed breed to be sure, but we all know how they rate), and it would have to do. Nationalism served, face-loss #545 avoided, all's well with the masters of the planet and back to business as usual.
So, Microsoft Japan's slippery salarymen will just "entertain" a few key government officials in some really fancy restaurants/clubs. The next government IT procurement will still be Microsoft due to various, uh, "incompatibility" and, uh, "stability" reasons.
Mr. HAJOSIKO MUNAHIKI couldn't agree more.
The japanese governement is, for now, waiting for the release of Ubuntu Tantalizing Tentacles.
I'll do it for cheesy poofs.
Every while and then some Government says they'll move to Linux. ... ehr ... other operating system. By moving the clients they could have much more advantages.
Then you find out that they are actually going to think to plan to move the servers to Linux.
For every server they run they also have dozens of clients running some
Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
For the last 6 years, the federal gov has pushed Windows throughout and this was dictated from above. They have worked hard at keeping software companies on Windows. If EU, China, Russia, Japan, And South Korea port to Linux, then they will establish a market, while the Americans will miss it. Sadly, you would think that America would have learned their lessons from what happened in the move from DOS to Windows. Many companies OWNED the dos world, but would not port to windows. When they did, it was too late. They had already lost the market.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
While I think this is a good thing, and that more attention for Linux is also really great... I can't help but wonder if Vista had been a more solid, fast, user friendly, and affordable OS, would these companies even be having these thoughts?
It seems that all this pro-Linux/OSS talk from these big companies like Dell is coming right on the heels of the disappointing launch of Vista. It must be depressing for Microsoft to realize that their wonder-OS has turned people off so badly.
Hopefully this news will be good in two ways: encourage Linux to polish up it's user-friendliness to be relevant to the non-techie average user... and to give Microsoft a clue.
now, microsoft is trying to scare off potential linux migrations by alleging infringement of microsoft intellectual shit. (i can not dare say property because theres so much crap and shit they patented).
but, despite linux community's challenge, they are not saying what infringes upon their iS., neither they are suing, yet.
lets say that major players migrated to linux, then, lets say that there REALLY was code in linux infringing microsoft's, and then microsoft sued these companies.
now, at this point, wouldnt microsoft's position be of the one that manipulates, and hides the truth from justice until it can exploit justice to acquire undeserved compensation through reparation lawsuits ?
in turkey for example, if you allege someone of some crime publicly, you HAVE to come up with its evidence. else, you yourself get sued.
wont microsoft be in knee deep shit because of this hide and seek manipulation when the time comes ?
Read radical news here
I think you might see this happen if Sun becomes the big champion of GPL3. If they officially adopt it, it would be similar to the posting of the new thoughts on the church door, Reformation version 2. Yes, cause a big split, but still make quite an impact.
Back in '86, I had a Japanese roommate move in (Yoseke Hasagawa). He had to pass the tuful test (English competency test which is now called ect) but his speech was horrible. So everyday, we went out for lunch and practiced his speech. The same at night. After 6 months, he passed (but just barely). But he would joke about his l's and r's. In fact, he told me the joke about supplies/suprise.
The Original poster sounded like he meant it in jest. You need to get a sense of humor. One of the worse things happening to America is that we have lost it. It seems that the only target can be White Males or Democrats.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
I believe I will be filing for a patent on a method of filing patents to stifle competition via the overworked patents office inability to properly investigate patents. If Microsoft, IBM and others claim prior work then they admit to filing patent claims to foster anti competition. Should they not then I can collect royalties for future patent filings of this nature. Since I am in the US and Slashdot is in the US publishing does not prevent me from filing patents. Enjoy the mess.
If that is the best response MS would have, well, they would be trully in a no win situation.
In 3 or 4 years down the line comes negotiation time again and the Japanese Government (or any other entity that obtained a big disscount) threatens to go to Linux again.
There is a point where MS can't keep disscounting. THat is a short term fix for their broken bussiness model, they have to fix their corporate culture in a way similar to what IBM had to do in the 90s.
Or perish, as unimaginable as that may sound now.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
When the US government formally decided Microsoft was a monopoly, this kind of project here at home would have been the least of the remedies the government could have undertaken.
Instead we "elected" Bush, whose Justice Department never met a monopoly it didn't love.
--
make install -not war
This isn't a matter of open source zealotry, it's the result of being burned too many times. Conventional wisdom says that open source projects have great starts and lousy finishes, that you need commercial software to get the professional-grade fit and polish. As I said, that's conventional wisdom. The reality that I've seen is shrinkwrap software tends to look the nicest, OSS is the roughest but with the most features, and the super proprietary high-end stuff (the kind you spend millions on) tends to be the crappiest of them all.
Not that I'm in charge of anything for big companies but if I were, I'd use open source as much as possible, paying people to write the middleware as necessary, and paying them double to make sure that everything is documented thoroughly. You don't even have to be talking programming to see how poorly things are documented in most companies, just talk about business practices! You'll never find it written down. You lose one person in the department and nobody will know how x or y gets done or even that z is necessary. All computers do is take this preexisting level of disorganization and make it worse. The bigger the company, the bigger the chaos.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
I think Microsoft has similarly overbroad patents and is thinking of them when it threatens Linux.
$META_SIG_JOKE
I would say that the year of Linux has already happened. In March my wife was hosting a play date here for our 3 year old, and when I went out to get coffee from the living room, I walked into a room filled with stay at home moms discussing which ones were running Windows, which ones were running Linux, and which of the two was the best choice for their small children.
The answers that they came up with are totally irrelevant. The very fact that groups of stay at home moms are sitting around even talking about it means that it is officially main stream. A minority no doubt, but mainstream non the less.
"Japan does not exist in 2007."
The obvious move is open source ... closed source has a place ... but not as much as it used to ... ... and the general acceptance of open source ...
companies are starting to trust open source a little more
to general consumers is higher than ever before
This comment was laboriously planned and extremely well thought out by Mike Donaghy @ http://mikedonaghy.org