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City of Munich Struggling With Basic Linux Functionality
jones_supa writes: Just like the city planned a year ago, Munich is still calling for a switch back to Windows from LiMux, their Ubuntu derivative. The councilors from Munich's conservative CSU party have called the operating system installed on their laptops "cumbersome to use" and "of very limited use." The letter from the two senior members of the city's IT committee (PDF in German) asks the mayor to consider removing the Linux-based OS and to install Windows and Office. "There are no programs for text editing, Skype, Office etc. installed and that prevents normal use," the letter argues. Another complaint from councilors is that "the lack of user permissions makes them of limited use." These kind of arguments raise eyebrows, as all that functionality is certainly found on Linux.
Computer neophytes are the reason that the IT department exists in the first place. IT's sole role is support.
Wrong. IT's role is to make things work. Support is part of that, but it's not the whole job. Congratulations, you don't understand IT. You must be ready to be a CEO!
I don't care if it's a $200 netbook or a $200,000 iSeries financial server, computers are a means, not an end.
That's right. Very good. But the users are not absolved of responsibility.
IT's job is to enable work. It's not to hold hands, except where necessary. But workers who need their hands held can be replaced... except in government where it's difficult to fire even those people who clearly deserve it.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I was curious...
If you open the PDF and to to properties it says:
Producer: OpenOffice.org 3.2
Creator: Writer
Now that is a very old version of OpenOffice... and most linux distros have switched to LibreOffice at this point. Does seem like they could use an update...
"...a hobbyist OS that is so difficult to use...It's 10x more difficult to do even the simplest task.."
Absolute horseshit!
Linux is not difficult to use; especially if someone else - like an administrator - installs and configures it for you.
People are not born with knowledge of any OS; whether it be Windows, IOS, OS/2, or whatever. Point and click is how we use most modern operating systems, and learning the program menu and what icons to click on is trivial. Most people can be taught this in under an hour. (left click =action; right click=options. Double-click to run. It isn't exactly rocket science.) One must assume that employees were given a training session before/during/after the migration.
If a user wants to run a program such as Skype, for example, and still does not know how to use the mouse to double-click on the little Skype icon (exactly the same as in Windows), then they have no business even using a computer in the first place.
"...is so difficult to use its market share is a mere rounding error."
Really? You have proof, I assume. Do tell.
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
>> Linux market share is a mere rounding error
It's at 1.7% as of last year. Compared to Windows' 85.5% share (about 50x more), the author's quip about Linux market share being a rounding error is correct.
https://www.phoronix.com/scan....
(Several other similar studies are also mentioned.)
Have you ever in your life met an actual end user? What you're asking for is beyond the vast majority of end users. Further, most of them if told explicitly, "You will be responsible for bad things that happen on your computer as a result of your actions," will balk and refuse to accept that claiming that's IT's job (which is true: It is.)
They want all the power and none of the responsibility. Indeed, the user is the problem, but the user is not capable of understanding the problem they cause. It's far more complex than any of them have any interest in learning. They rely on IT to manage systems and keep them running. The way that IT does that is by configuring a platform that meets their needs and locking it down so they can't screw it up.