"In one of the premier open source software deployments in Europe, the city migrated from Windows NT to LiMux, its own Linux distribution... Ten years after the decision to switch, the LiMux project will now go into regular operation, the Munich City council said."
It only took ten years and the development of their own distribution of Linux to migrate from WinNT to LiMux (their own Linux distro) - wow.
I guess if Munich can do it, anyone can!
Question - were the last few users to convert (upgrade?) to LiMux still running WinNT for the last ten years or did they upgrade from WinNT to one of Microsoft's other interim offerings before finally landing on LiMux?
As I remember, one thing a leader of this effort pointed out was that this was not about "saving money," and if that was your primary goal you should reconsider any plans to migrate to a Linux distribution - there are many valid reason for the cutover to Linux, but cost savings alone won't justify the change.
You bought a Chinese computer with a Chinese version of Windows in China and you were upset because there was no easy/free way to change it to English?
Were you also mad at Samsung for not including an English keyboard?
And your heading is 100% incorrect - you say "If you can read Chinese you pay twice in China" - how so? By your own example you only "pay twice" if you can't read Chinese and instead require another language on your Chinese computer bought in China with a Chinese edition of Windows. If you COULD read Chinese, why would you need the English version of Windows?
Windows 7 had the option of changing the install language via language interface packs for free, if you had the Ultimate or Enterprise versions - low-end, "Home" editions didn't have this ability.
Microsoft is on it's third attempt to get people off WinXP - first came Windows Vista, then Windows 7 and now Windows 8 - I really don't think Microsoft is as concerned about supporting folks in China that insist on using 15 year-old technology. How many of those WinXP licenses did MS actually get paid for?
Not really an option on your first computer, besides, they'd still need to get that torrent into a bootable format, like a USB key or a DVD, each of which would cost money, hence the market selling $3 bootable copies of pirated Windows in nice professional boxes.
Certain version of Windows 7 include XP, not all, and it requires fairly modern hardware (hardware virtualization) and that you have a legal version of Windows 7 (you have to pass the Windows Genuine Advantage check to download the required bits). Running Windows XP in a Windows 8 Hypervisor requires very modern hardware (not only have hardware virtualization but also SLAT support) and that the user source a Win XP install ISO and valid product key.
Microsoft sold memory boards for Apple computers so they could run larger programs (other software vendors sold similar memory cards, notably Lotus), they never sold "logic boards" (which I take to mean "motherboards"), and they most definitely were never a "UNIX shop" (they licensed and sold a version of UNIX called XENIX).
Microsoft started business selling a paper tape containing their version of BASIC for the new personal computers being sold as kits in the early 70's.
Remember how excited everyone got when they started seeing blurtooth keyboard/cases that turned their $400 tablet into a $500 netbook (when notebooks were running $250-350?
Turning a tablet into a laptop doesn't prove the tablet is replacing the laptop - it proves people like laptops and will adapt their tablets to act like one.
Oh, and I've been working in IT since the mid-80's, and for the last 30-some years the mainframe has been "on the way out"... Hasn't happened yet, they just keep getting cheaper and cheaper...
The incremental improvements in hardware performance haven't justified buying replacement computers for the last few years - that three year-old Core 2 Duo running at 3 GHz with 4 or 8 gigs of RAM runs everything the vast majority of users choose to run pretty well. For most home users the real bottleneck in their computing is the speed of their internet connection. Quad core CPUs don't make Facebook pages render that much faster. And Windows OSes have gotten better the last few outings (Win8 performs better than Win7 on the same hardware, Win7 performs better than Vista on the same hardware, Win7 and Win8 run better than WinXP on the same hardware.), and like it or not, most users run Windows OSes (some 90% or more, by some estimates).
What makes a fourth generation i3, i5, or i7 CPU/system so much better than a third or second generation i3, i5, or i7 CPU/system FOR THE TYPICAL END-USER?
The vast majority of new computer purchases are for either replacing dead/dying hardware or new users with no previous system.
The website is essential if one wants to avail themselves of the offered subsidies, and applying over the phone or via snail mail (paper application) simply transfers the task of actually typing your information into the website to the clerk who either answers the phone or processes your paper application.
When the website fails, all means of applying for subsidized healthcare are halted.
So an outside infusion of money will break the cycle of poverty? How long were they working on that theory?
And where, exactly, is this 'outside' infusion of money to come from? Will it ever be repaid, or must it be a gift?
Who would have thought more money could end the cycle of poverty?! Brilliant!
Maybe now they can turn their big brains towards homelessness and hunger... Wait, let me take a crack at it - how about 'free housing breaks the cycle of homelessness'? 'Free food breaks the cycle of hunger'!
"He also warns against organizations justifying the shift to open source software on the grounds that it will save money, arguing this approach is always likely to fail."
In my town we had a Linux "advocate" that insisted we should ditch MS and Apple for Linux to save "millions per year" in our local school district (our entire IT budget was less than $3M/year) - he felt that by proving Linux ran on 10 year old hardware in his basement, that meant we could use 10 year old hardware in the classroom...
His argument found no traction with anyone, he felt (among other things) that there was no need for central management of 1,500 desktops & laptops, that our robust networking infrastructure could be replaced by unmanaged switches, and our seven campus WiFi network could be served with an infinite number of $40 routers flashed with WRT, etc.
Adding "illegal possession of a firearm" to a murder charge isn't really that big a deterrent. Besides, criminals rarely think they will be caught - they rarely weigh the penalty against the crime as part of a cost-benefit analysis...
Plastic guns can't be DETECTED, I didn't see the word TRACED in the above summary.
Really, now Government is in the pocket of "Big Auto Parts"?
Three-D printed guns that can be fired more than once are relatively rare - I can't imagine how brief the working life of a 3-D printed cylinder head, cam shaft, or brake caliper would be...
I had the same reaction - but you have to finish the quote:
[...] Those firearms cannot be detected by metal detectors or x-ray machines. Schumer says that means anyone can download a gun cheaply, then take the weapons anywhere, including high-security areas.
By focusing on the rarest form of gun deaths (mass shootings) we are ensuring that any proposed changes would have the least effect on reducing the number of gun deaths per year. It could, I feel, be reasonably argued that if guns were suddenly no longer commonly available the death by gunshot rate would drop, but the suicide rate would remain mostly unchanged - the suicidal among us would simply find other ways to "shave off this mortal coil...
All that gun control laws do is disarm potential victims - lawbreakers, by definition, don't obey laws.
A "No Guns Allowed" sign doesn't deter a suicidal shooter, but it does prevent others from having guns for self-protection and imposes stiff penalties on those that inadvertently violate the gun prohibition.
It's easy to confuse increased publicity for a school shootings with an increase in school shootings (for example).
The lack of content on the website isn't a UI/UX issue, it's a basic design issue, and maybe, just maybe, the three programmers designing and implementing this "proof of concept" website didn't have the time/resources to include details of a few thousand insurance plans in the handful of days they threw the site together... Were I to be responsible for the UI/UX of this application, I'd ask for a link to valuepenguin.com (see above) filtered through lmgtfy.com...
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It only took ten years and the development of their own distribution of Linux to migrate from WinNT to LiMux (their own Linux distro) - wow.
I guess if Munich can do it, anyone can!
Question - were the last few users to convert (upgrade?) to LiMux still running WinNT for the last ten years or did they upgrade from WinNT to one of Microsoft's other interim offerings before finally landing on LiMux?
As I remember, one thing a leader of this effort pointed out was that this was not about "saving money," and if that was your primary goal you should reconsider any plans to migrate to a Linux distribution - there are many valid reason for the cutover to Linux, but cost savings alone won't justify the change.
Imagine what a company like Tesla could have done with GM Assets it picked up at pennies on the dollar...
Instead, we got the Chevy Volt...
Well done - maybe next time you could try and break even? (Depending on how you look at it, AIG was a profitable bailout, for example.)
You bought a Chinese computer with a Chinese version of Windows in China and you were upset because there was no easy/free way to change it to English?
Were you also mad at Samsung for not including an English keyboard?
And your heading is 100% incorrect - you say "If you can read Chinese you pay twice in China" - how so? By your own example you only "pay twice" if you can't read Chinese and instead require another language on your Chinese computer bought in China with a Chinese edition of Windows. If you COULD read Chinese, why would you need the English version of Windows?
Windows 7 had the option of changing the install language via language interface packs for free, if you had the Ultimate or Enterprise versions - low-end, "Home" editions didn't have this ability.
Microsoft is on it's third attempt to get people off WinXP - first came Windows Vista, then Windows 7 and now Windows 8 - I really don't think Microsoft is as concerned about supporting folks in China that insist on using 15 year-old technology. How many of those WinXP licenses did MS actually get paid for?
I suspect India runs more current OSes because of their close ties with US industries through their outsourcing industry.
Well, if you put a touchscreen on your server console it starts to make more sense... Just sayin'
Not really an option on your first computer, besides, they'd still need to get that torrent into a bootable format, like a USB key or a DVD, each of which would cost money, hence the market selling $3 bootable copies of pirated Windows in nice professional boxes.
I think you are confusing MS users with Apple users. ;^)
Why not bring back BeOS?
Certain version of Windows 7 include XP, not all, and it requires fairly modern hardware (hardware virtualization) and that you have a legal version of Windows 7 (you have to pass the Windows Genuine Advantage check to download the required bits). Running Windows XP in a Windows 8 Hypervisor requires very modern hardware (not only have hardware virtualization but also SLAT support) and that the user source a Win XP install ISO and valid product key.
What are you smoking?
Microsoft sold memory boards for Apple computers so they could run larger programs (other software vendors sold similar memory cards, notably Lotus), they never sold "logic boards" (which I take to mean "motherboards"), and they most definitely were never a "UNIX shop" (they licensed and sold a version of UNIX called XENIX).
Microsoft started business selling a paper tape containing their version of BASIC for the new personal computers being sold as kits in the early 70's.
Remember how excited everyone got when they started seeing blurtooth keyboard/cases that turned their $400 tablet into a $500 netbook (when notebooks were running $250-350?
Turning a tablet into a laptop doesn't prove the tablet is replacing the laptop - it proves people like laptops and will adapt their tablets to act like one.
Oh, and I've been working in IT since the mid-80's, and for the last 30-some years the mainframe has been "on the way out"... Hasn't happened yet, they just keep getting cheaper and cheaper...
Maybe it will cease to be a fraction of the installed Vista user-base... Maybe.
The incremental improvements in hardware performance haven't justified buying replacement computers for the last few years - that three year-old Core 2 Duo running at 3 GHz with 4 or 8 gigs of RAM runs everything the vast majority of users choose to run pretty well. For most home users the real bottleneck in their computing is the speed of their internet connection. Quad core CPUs don't make Facebook pages render that much faster. And Windows OSes have gotten better the last few outings (Win8 performs better than Win7 on the same hardware, Win7 performs better than Vista on the same hardware, Win7 and Win8 run better than WinXP on the same hardware.), and like it or not, most users run Windows OSes (some 90% or more, by some estimates).
What makes a fourth generation i3, i5, or i7 CPU/system so much better than a third or second generation i3, i5, or i7 CPU/system FOR THE TYPICAL END-USER?
The vast majority of new computer purchases are for either replacing dead/dying hardware or new users with no previous system.
The website is essential if one wants to avail themselves of the offered subsidies, and applying over the phone or via snail mail (paper application) simply transfers the task of actually typing your information into the website to the clerk who either answers the phone or processes your paper application.
When the website fails, all means of applying for subsidized healthcare are halted.
So an outside infusion of money will break the cycle of poverty? How long were they working on that theory?
And where, exactly, is this 'outside' infusion of money to come from? Will it ever be repaid, or must it be a gift?
Who would have thought more money could end the cycle of poverty?! Brilliant!
Maybe now they can turn their big brains towards homelessness and hunger... Wait, let me take a crack at it - how about 'free housing breaks the cycle of homelessness'? 'Free food breaks the cycle of hunger'!
In my town we had a Linux "advocate" that insisted we should ditch MS and Apple for Linux to save "millions per year" in our local school district (our entire IT budget was less than $3M/year) - he felt that by proving Linux ran on 10 year old hardware in his basement, that meant we could use 10 year old hardware in the classroom...
His argument found no traction with anyone, he felt (among other things) that there was no need for central management of 1,500 desktops & laptops, that our robust networking infrastructure could be replaced by unmanaged switches, and our seven campus WiFi network could be served with an infinite number of $40 routers flashed with WRT, etc.
3-D Printed Claymore mines... interesting.
Most US schools are not located in mine-free zones, so there's nothing stopping you. ;^)
Adding "illegal possession of a firearm" to a murder charge isn't really that big a deterrent. Besides, criminals rarely think they will be caught - they rarely weigh the penalty against the crime as part of a cost-benefit analysis...
Plastic guns can't be DETECTED, I didn't see the word TRACED in the above summary.
Really, now Government is in the pocket of "Big Auto Parts"?
Three-D printed guns that can be fired more than once are relatively rare - I can't imagine how brief the working life of a 3-D printed cylinder head, cam shaft, or brake caliper would be...
I had the same reaction - but you have to finish the quote:
That isn't true for your good 'ol steel gun...
The vast majority of gun deaths are suicides - mass shootings are the rarest form of gun deaths... by a huge margin.
By focusing on the rarest form of gun deaths (mass shootings) we are ensuring that any proposed changes would have the least effect on reducing the number of gun deaths per year. It could, I feel, be reasonably argued that if guns were suddenly no longer commonly available the death by gunshot rate would drop, but the suicide rate would remain mostly unchanged - the suicidal among us would simply find other ways to "shave off this mortal coil...
All that gun control laws do is disarm potential victims - lawbreakers, by definition, don't obey laws.
A "No Guns Allowed" sign doesn't deter a suicidal shooter, but it does prevent others from having guns for self-protection and imposes stiff penalties on those that inadvertently violate the gun prohibition.
It's easy to confuse increased publicity for a school shootings with an increase in school shootings (for example).
Consider this recent report with lots of good links within it...
The lack of content on the website isn't a UI/UX issue, it's a basic design issue, and maybe, just maybe, the three programmers designing and implementing this "proof of concept" website didn't have the time/resources to include details of a few thousand insurance plans in the handful of days they threw the site together... Were I to be responsible for the UI/UX of this application, I'd ask for a link to valuepenguin.com (see above) filtered through lmgtfy.com...