The City of Munich Might Stick With Linux (fsfe.org)

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The City of Munich Might Stick With Linux (fsfe.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on Saturday March 4, 2017 @04:34PM from the waffling-on-Windows? dept.

Munich's "LiMux" project brought FOSS software to their city's IT administration -- until a vote last month on whether to abandon Linux and return to Windows. "Since this decision was reached, the majority of media have reported that a final call was made to halt LiMux and switch back to Microsoft software," reports the Free Software Foundation Europe. "This is, however, not an accurate representation of the outcome of the city council meeting." An anonymous reader quotes their report: The opposing parties were overruled, but the decision was amended such that the strategy document must specify which LiMux-applications will no longer be needed, the extent in which prior investments must be written off, and a rough calculation of the overall costs of the desired unification... [Only then will the city council make their final decision...] We succeeded thus far in forcing the mayor Dieter Reiter to postpone the final decision, and this was possible through the unwavering pressure created by joint efforts between The Document Foundation, KDE, OSBA, and the FSFE together with all the individuals who wrote to city council members and took the issue to the media.

Although the mandate is highly suggestive in that it suggests that the existing vendor-neutral approach is to be replaced with a proprietary solution, it leaves the door open... The new mandate buys us some time. And we will keep going.
Some politicians said they'd never received this much input from the public before, and the Free Software Foundation Europe says the city's issues were caused "from organizational problems, including lack of clear structures and responsibilities," which should not be attributed to the Linux operating system. "LiMux as such is still one of the best examples of how to create a vendor-neutral administration based on Free Software."

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I bet they're disappointed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 16:37 · Score: 1

That Microsoft's current CEO hasn't jumped on a plane and stepped out smiling, offering a huge discount on the usual terms.
Ballmer is sitting in SoCal thinking "that's his (Satya's) problem now."
1. Re:I bet they're disappointed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 20:45 · Score: 1
  
  Nah,
  MS has to be paid back for moving its German HQ to Munich.
  The payback is Windows 10 everywhere or else.
  It ain't rocket science you know.
  MS wants control of everything. Then it will make another move like the one Munich did impossibe.
  As everythingwill be moved on the QT into the MS Cloud guess who will have to pay and keep paying for the pleasure of accessing all their files and documents from then on?
  The Tax payers of Munich and everywgere else that's who.
  This is the MS Long game in action.
2. Re:I bet they're disappointed by Sique · 2017-03-05 00:12 · Score: 1
  
  Microsoft's German HQ moved to Munich even before the LiMux client was ever christened.
  
  --
  .sig: Sique *sigh*
3. Re:I bet they're disappointed by ilguido · 2017-03-05 02:59 · Score: 2
  
  Nope. Microsoft began to build a new HQ in Munich in 2013 and it was completed in 2016. The old HQ was in Unterschleißheim, which is a small town near to Munich, under a different city council.
Good by ls671 · 2017-03-04 16:41 · Score: 1

Good for them!
Use the would be MS license money to train people. In the long run, it is a win-win.

--
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
1. Re: Good by andrewa · 2017-03-04 17:10 · Score: 1
  
  Or a Linux-Linux?
  
  --
  :(){ :|:& };:
2. Re:Good by ls671 · 2017-03-04 18:15 · Score: 1
  
  Cool! Mine called negotiating too!
  
  --
  Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
Global Politics by phantomfive · 2017-03-04 17:24 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's somewhat disturbing to me that they received pressure from so many groups around the world, who are really just hoping to promote OSS, not help the city of Munich run better.

On the other hand, they have a lobbyist from Microsoft who definitely isn't trying to help the city of Munich run better, so I guess it's fair. Must be overwhelming to be an administrator in Munich, though.

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
1. Re:Global Politics by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 18:06 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is NEITHER OSS or Microsoft are trying to help Munich run better, both are pushing their own agenda. For MS I kinda understand that as they are a business, but the OSS community should be ashamed, They should be spending their efforts fixing the bucket of shit that Munich ended up with and if they did that then the City would not be contemplating the switch back.
2. Re: Global Politics by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 18:14 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I presume you mean "they should do this for free". Why would they do this? Open source is about being open not about being cheap.
3. Re:Global Politics by phantomfive · 2017-03-04 18:17 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  if they did that then the City would not be contemplating the switch back.
  Unless....the reason for switching is because Microsoft bribed them in some way.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
4. Re: Global Politics by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 18:58 · Score: 1
  
  If a company invests huge resources in lobbying its considered part of the game. Then why shouldn't the FOSS community be able to do the same?
  I find it that people expect open software to be always cheaper than proprietary products. That's not necessarily the case and it should not be an argument when lobbying for FOSS. There are plenty of good reasons to switch to open source - being "cheap" isn't one.
5. Re:Global Politics by Kjella · 2017-03-04 21:02 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Unless....the reason for switching is because Microsoft bribed them in some way.
  At the core is probably some TCO studies and they're not exactly indisputable facts. The licensing is just one tiny bit of it, then you try to estimate the productivity, maintenance and administration, difficulty of getting software and staff to operate it, training costs of users and so on. There's a lot of room for bias, particularly when it comes to omitting costs you would have with a different solution but won't be apparent until you get there. Also known as "the grass is greener on the other side", when you jump the fence you'll find the other side has its own set of disadvantages.
  I'm sure Microsoft has made the pitch that Munich is actually losing money on their Linux adventure. And if you're not good at cutting through corporate BS and flawed assumptions - which most people aren't - it's not surprising that some policy makers believe them. Not to mention it probably involves a low-ball offer from Microsoft, which might actually be profitable in the short term until you're hooked on regular upgrade costs, software maintenance and so on in the future. But politicians often do things that look good in this election cycle. You don't have to imagine cloak-and-dagger operations.
  
  --
  Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
6. Re: Global Politics by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 21:42 · Score: 1
  
  Unless you are a government and want to be sure your systems are not working for another government behind your back. While you can't possibly audit all OSS source code in-house, you could audit the most critical parts of it and you can still rely on the community for the rest of the work. Which, with closed software is not possible - you have to trust a company and in the case of Microsoft, it is a US company. An analogy would be for the US government to trust a Chinese phone running custom closed Chinese software for critical government communications. I bet you think it would be a bad idea.
  Also, your statement "nobody cares about open source" is a bit far fetched, considering the huge amount of contributions to FOSS projects. Mind you most of those people do care about openness.
7. Re: Global Politics by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 21:51 · Score: 1
  
  I for one don't want FOSS to be tailored so it can be easily used by the next computer illiterate. I like open source software because it's flexible, you can tweak it to your needs and this is precisely the reason it is not suitable to everyone. You have to either lock it so that the user doesn't have access to critical components or expect users to do bad things that will break their systems and will ultimately abandon the software. Android has gone for the first and it is dominating the smartphone market. It is still a Linux, theoretically.
  I like FOSS as it is - powerful tools meant for people that want to do powerful stuff with their computers. It is not for your grand mother searching cooking recipes over the internet.
8. Re:Global Politics by execthis · 2017-03-04 22:41 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  One thing that bothers me about the press coverage of this is that there's no discussion about why there was a call to stop using LiMux. I would like to know why - was it certain apps that underperformed? Certain features that didn't exist? What? Discussing this without describing actual details is worse than meaningless. People can suggest all kinds of things, but until anyone actually knows what the issues were, it's a moot point.
9. Re:Global Politics by orin · 2017-03-04 23:11 · Score: 1
  
  Other than it being a "flagship Linux project" - the cost benefits to Microsoft of the sort of licensing used by Munich's city council aren't substantial enough that they'd make any extraordinary effort to change what was going on. The project never turned into the sort of unmitigated success that drove other municipalities to adopt Linux. "New Microsoft" even includes a version of Ubuntu on Windows 10, so probably at this stage didn't give much of a shit about what's going on in Munich. On the other hand, the reason that there is so much activity on this from the FOSS side is that it is a "flagship Linux project" and conceding defeat would make it more difficult to argue that Linux is a viable municipal desktop alternative even though, at this point, the lack of awesome success sort of suggests that conclusion anyway.
10. Re:Global Politics by thegarbz · 2017-03-04 23:37 · Score: 1
  
  Unless....the reason for switching is because Microsoft bribed them in some way.
  People are very quick to use the word bribe when in reality in many business deals it's just a case of a negotiable contract. If Microsoft were to give a huge discount on the software, that's not a bribe but it may dramatically sway the decision given that the basis from switching away from a package that the entire rest of the world uses is typically cost.
11. Re:Global Politics by angel'o'sphere · 2017-03-05 00:16 · Score: 2
  
  Indeed it is!
  I mean if local groups hat tried to 'enlighten' the city council, but the FSFE?
  If M$ had be caught doing that we had an uproar ....
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
12. Re:Global Politics by Sique · 2017-03-05 00:23 · Score: 1
  
  The City of Munich moved to LiMux when the SPD was in power, and now the move to Microsoft happens when the SPD is in power.
  Yes, definitely two different parties here at work.
  
  --
  .sig: Sique *sigh*
13. Re:Global Politics by Sique · 2017-03-05 00:25 · Score: 1
  
  The German HQ of Microsoft was in Munich since I remember. At least in the 1990ies, it was in Munich already.
  
  --
  .sig: Sique *sigh*
14. Re:Global Politics by loonycyborg · 2017-03-05 00:43 · Score: 1
  
  The article answers this question. Newly elected major is pro-microsoft ideologically.
15. Re:Global Politics by Junta · 2017-03-05 02:06 · Score: 1
  
  The ubuntu on Windows is a gimped 'linux' that is strictly so that a Windows desktop can be used for Linux VM work on Azure. So no unix domain sockets, no sane integration with desktop for graphics, not really the best filesystem performance, no integration of the native authentication/permission structure... Being binary compatible with Linux is one of the least needed aspects of linux, and it's pretty much the only facet they focused on.
  
  --
  XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
16. Re:Global Politics by Junta · 2017-03-05 02:14 · Score: 2
  
  Actually, it's not just about that. A good example is active directory.
  On the open source side, if you can set up a decent directory service at all, you are pretty well equipped to handle very complex deployments as well as simple ones. You appreciate the power, transparency, and relative straightforwardness in dealing with complex needs. However, getting even a simple configuration going can be daunting to a newcomer. The newcomer experience is most often ignored in open source projects, since the target audience tends to be in the same ballpark as people able to write the software (at least in the best open source projects).
  On the active directory side, it is dead simple to set up a simple configuration. So people getting started have an easier time. Now as your needs advance in complexity, you enter a hellish world of awkwardness in active directory and you'd be better off with the open source stack, but you started with AD and you are stuck with AD.
  Commercial software tends to be easier to get started with and also working in common evaluation contexts. Open source tends to fare better when complexity increases and people are able to self-support and mold the overall project in an agreeable way.
  
  --
  XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
17. Re:Global Politics by Barsteward · 2017-03-05 03:29 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps you need to read more about the situation before jumping and saying "the bucket of shit that Munich ended up with".
  
  --
  "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
18. Re:Global Politics by Barsteward · 2017-03-05 03:32 · Score: 2
  
  From the report
  "In 2014, Dieter Reiter was elected new mayor of Munich. He had referred to himself as "Microsoft fan" even before he took office. He prides himself with having played a major part in the decision to move the Microsoft Germany headquarters to downtown Munich. He started to question the LiMux strategy as soon as his term started, and asked Accenture, a Microsoft partner in the same building as Microsoft, to analyse Munich's IT infrastructure. The report can be found here (German). It's noteworthy that in their report, the analysts identify primarily organisational issues at the root of the problems troubling LiMux uptake, rather than technical challenges."
  
  --
  "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
19. Re:Global Politics by Barsteward · 2017-03-05 03:33 · Score: 1
  
  In 2014, Dieter Reiter was elected new mayor of Munich. He had referred to himself as "Microsoft fan" even before he took office. He prides himself with having played a major part in the decision to move the Microsoft Germany headquarters to downtown Munich. - from the report
  
  --
  "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
20. Re:Global Politics by ruir · 2017-03-05 04:12 · Score: 1
  
  As far as I know it was the Greens that pushed the Linux agenda, and SPD was pushing the Windows agenda.
21. Re: Global Politics by MightyMartian · 2017-03-05 05:08 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps the problem is how you express your opinion. To be frank you come off as a bit of a jerk, which I suspect you know very well. That is why you post AC, to try to minimize the consequences of acting like a fucking asshole.
  
  --
  The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
22. Re:Global Politics by Sique · 2017-03-05 06:12 · Score: 1
  
  Christian Ude (SPD) was mayor of Munich between 1993 and 2014, and now it's Dieter Reiter (SPD). There hasn't been any non-SPD mayor of Munich since the late 1940ies, now for nearly 70 years. And the Greens have never had more seats in the Munich city council than since 2014, while the SPD never had less seats than now since 1952.
  
  --
  .sig: Sique *sigh*
23. Re: Global Politics by Barsteward · 2017-03-05 06:32 · Score: 1
  
  costs are saved by not being beholden to any suppliers.
  
  --
  "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
24. Re:Global Politics by phantomfive · 2017-03-05 06:46 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, that's a good quote, it explains a lot. Thanks.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
25. Re:Global Politics by phantomfive · 2017-03-05 06:59 · Score: 1
  
  That's true, the word is hyperbolic, I would assume, in the case of Germany.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
26. Re:Global Politics by phantomfive · 2017-03-05 07:01 · Score: 1
  
  Kind of reminds me of AWS. Great system, easy to use, but wow the learning curve is steep and the documentation not particularly helpful in climbing it.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
27. Re:Global Politics by thegarbz · 2017-03-05 07:05 · Score: 1
  
  would like to know why
  I don't. Changing a system is no reason to not continuously question running a new system. A switch from Windows to Linux is not an end-game but a business decision. That decision may be relevant at a certain period in time. If in the past a company looks at changing their desktop OS every 3 years (for example) I would expect them to continue to look at changing every 3 years even after the change.
  As to why one may win over the other, well a lot of personal preference from people quite high up can have that effect. I'm not looking forward to our CIO leaving as his second in command is pro-Apple and I think that may cause a shift towards iPhones as the company phone next time the current approach is reviewed (yearly at present).
28. Re: Global Politics by Zontar+The+Mindless · 2017-03-05 08:27 · Score: 2
  
  Not so fast there, pardner. You said,
  
  That is nonsense. A properly set up Linux system is perfect for Grandma. She clicks on the Firefox icon and it's exactly like on Windows, minus the Windows headaches!!!
  
  But the parent said,
  
  You have to either lock it so that the user doesn't have access to critical components or expect users to do bad things that will break their systems and will ultimately abandon the software.
  So in reality you are providing evidence that supports just what the AC said, yet you are claiming it demonstrates the opposite.
  
  --
  Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
29. Re:Global Politics by westlake · 2017-03-05 09:37 · Score: 1
  
  Unless....the reason for switching is because Microsoft bribed them in some way.
  The geek's all-purpose explanation for any legal or political decision he doesn't like is bribery.
30. Re:Global Politics by a_n_d_e_r_s · 2017-03-06 00:39 · Score: 1
  
  FSFE is based in Germany. So in that sense it's a local group.
  
  --
  Just saying it like it are.
31. Re: Global Politics by Zontar+The+Mindless · 2017-03-06 03:03 · Score: 1
  
  the user doesn't have access to critical components
  
  She clicks on the Firefox icon and it's exactly like on Windows
  I rest my case.
  
  --
  Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
32. Re:Global Politics by angel'o'sphere · 2017-03-06 18:34 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, I mixed them up with fsf.org, lol.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Trolls... Crickets... by Tough+Love · 2017-03-04 17:24 · Score: 2

Interesting how the MSFT trolls didn't show up to this article as they usually do. Microsoft... same old same old. Paid out all that payola and what... sheesh. Buncha pesky citizens got in the way.

--
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
1. Re:Trolls... Crickets... by ArchieBunker · 2017-03-04 19:19 · Score: 1
  
  You really think anyone bothers to pay shills for this site anymore?
  
  --
  Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
2. Re:Trolls... Crickets... by thegarbz · 2017-03-04 23:47 · Score: 1
  
  Interesting how the MSFT trolls didn't show up to this article as they usually do
  Maybe it's time you get your prescription checked.
3. Re:Trolls... Crickets... by Ol+Olsoc · 2017-03-05 02:24 · Score: 1
  
  Must be shills all the way down.
  
  --
  The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Re:TITle: How to Get a Better Deal! by TechyImmigrant · 2017-03-04 17:48 · Score: 1

Play on love!
Many plays are on love. It's a popular subject.

--
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Germans and Open Source by future+assassin · 2017-03-04 19:55 · Score: 1

The open source movement is quite strong in Germeny. I got this from playing Xonotic which has a strong EU/German presence. Much more open to OSS than North Americans.

--
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
1. Re: Germans and Open Source by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-05 01:03 · Score: 1
  
  It is somewhat logical - most software is US produced. If you are a government you want software free from foreign interference or at least something you can check (if you choose to do so). You either rely on closed software and you have to trust the producer (which is US based) or you have the choice to trust the much larger community and even have the ability to do partial checks on the source, in the case of FOSS. For Germany it is probably not such an issue, but what about countries that don't necessarily share the same strategic interests with the US ? If you are Chinese, would you trust Microsoft ? Would you trust them if tomorrow you have a military conflict ?
  This is irrelevant in the US though.
2. Re:Germans and Open Source by Neuronwelder · 2017-03-05 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  You mean the have sane people in Germany too!!
New headquarters of Microsoft in Germany... by mattMad · 2017-03-04 20:48 · Score: 3, Informative

Guess where Microsoft just opened their new German headquarters? Right: In Munich... (To be fair: They had their headquarters nearby Munich already before - but now they lured them right into the city)
1. Re:New headquarters of Microsoft in Germany... by Barsteward · 2017-03-05 03:36 · Score: 1
  
  and they were encouraged and helped by the new mayor who is MS fan
  
  --
  "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
Re: Highly suggestive in that it suggests by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-04 22:38 · Score: 1

Linux is better than Windows in business because businesses are always allowed to change and improve how it works for themselves. There is no waiting for permission of the software owners when you have the source code right there for the changing.
Windows is easier for the average person to use by chewie2010 · 2017-03-04 23:27 · Score: 1

We have all worked with people who shout at you for not using Linux. No one every address the fact that it is cumbersome to use. When there is a linux distro that is user friendly then it will be used more. Geeks are enamoured with all the reasons everyone "should" use open source os's but never address the consumers using the product.
1. Re:Windows is easier for the average person to use by espenskaufel · 2017-03-05 09:20 · Score: 1
  
  I agree with you. Most of the answers I see under here are from the same people you address in your post. Most people do not care about the operating system, and they never will, and they should be free not to care. They do not want configurability, package repositories, terminal windows and a GUI that changes fundamentally every few years (that is why Windows 8 was a disaster). They just want to do what they are required to and then go and live their normal lives.
2. Re:Windows is easier for the average person to use by b783719 · 2017-03-05 15:31 · Score: 1
  
  Just to let you know they previously
  "replace their no longer supported Windows NT4 workstations"
  It's so old that any new OS like Windows 10, Linux or MacOS would have been just as hard without relearning.
So let's dig deeper.... by HalAtWork · 2017-03-05 02:43 · Score: 1

So why are they pro-MS ideologically? Any specific reason that manifests in the LiMux stack currently?

--
Twinstiq, game news
1. Re:So let's dig deeper.... by loonycyborg · 2017-03-05 03:03 · Score: 1
  
  Only reason is the desire to conform.
2. Re:So let's dig deeper.... by Barsteward · 2017-03-05 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  too old to want to learn anything new?
  
  --
  "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
3. Re: So let's dig deeper.... by dunkelfalke · 2017-03-05 09:59 · Score: 2
  
  Why do you assume that just because you personally prefer linux, everyone else either does as well or is unwilling to learn? I personally develop for linux at work, but use windows at home mpst of the time even though i obviously know my way around linux. I simply prefer windows workflows, windows ui and windows font rendering.
  
  --
  "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
4. Re:So let's dig deeper.... by rtb61 · 2017-03-05 13:41 · Score: 1
  
  Close source proprietary software has the money and the off shore tax haven bank accounts to pay bribes and Free Open Source Software does not. That is one example and of course we know how much is buried by closed sourced proprietary software companies in tax havens, hundreds of billions of dollars. Would they pay bribes which can quite readily be cashed in as luxury overseas holidays, hmm, let me think about it, yes. They would also pay bribes to gain things we could never hope for tax holidays to bring the money back into the economy, basically legalised tax evasion (not all of it comes back, some of it shift from one account to another, considering they are cheating on billions how big a bribe do you think they would be willing to pay). So why the push, marketing, how honest was the decision, likely not honest at all.
  
  --
  Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
5. Re: So let's dig deeper.... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-06 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  Why do you assume that just because you personally prefer linux, everyone else either does as well or is unwilling to learn?
  Hazing.
  Ok, I know that is not a fully informative answer unless you already knew it was the answer, so I'll explain.
  Studies have shown that mild hazing results in a stronger emotional investment in the haze-locked subject matter. One such experiment was done with two groups attending a really boring seminar on avian reproduction. The group that was mildly hazed by being told that it would be an explicit discussion and forced to sign waivers that they were warned about the potential use of crude vocabulary (with examples all the way) reported that it was a more interesting and informative seminar than those who just walked in and got a seat.
  Linux has a long history of abusive advice. I know someone who has determined that the only way to actually get advice from a Linux forum is instead of asking a question, to accuse Linux of being incapable of accomplishing something. Within 3 posts there will be four ways to accomplish the desired results (2 for apt-get based packaging, 2 for without). If, instead, you make a new account and ask for advice on solving something, it reliably results in many statements of "RTFM noob!" and if someone is foolish enough to provide a useful answer, the rest of the thread will be attacking that person.
Re:SimpleBurn DVDs by Zontar+The+Mindless · 2017-03-05 09:39 · Score: 1

This happened even when using VLC?

--
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
I think the origianl complaint was... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-05 11:26 · Score: 1

something about linux not working well with SAP and Oracle, espcially with HR.
I work with a medium-to-big company (coincidentally headquartered in Munich-- we make... a luxury item). All of our (many) SAP systems run on SUSE and a majority (all?) of those SAP systems use Oracle. (I sit next to the regional database admin and SAP security admin). I have personally built several interfaces from HR systems on linux using SAP.
So, the mayor's argument is complete bullshit.
And... wow... we are truly living in 1984. The news articles that mentioned SAP and Oracle as the reasons seem to have been changed. I'm sure my difficulty in finding corroboration in the original articles is simply my imagination.
Re:And mostly AD isn't needed by Junta · 2017-03-18 04:06 · Score: 1

I was mostly thinking about the NIS replacement side of it, less about the whole roaming profile stuff. My business device with Windows has no roaming profile, for example.
Incidentally, the nfs /home and similar can be frustrating with devices that communicate over WAN a lot, and replication and cached credentials are valuable. Though using something like nextcloud or seafile is generally a better experience than either remote 'home' or trying to be transparent replication (when replication takes a long time, better to have it out of the way of login and such).

--
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.