Posted on 04/05/2024 7:45:26 AM PDT by ShadowAce
What just happened? It's not just China that is replacing Windows on government PCs. Germany's most northern state, Schleswig-Holstein, has begun moving from the popular OS to Linux while also switching from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice. The state's Minister-President Daniel Gunther said the move from proprietary to open-source software was being made to ensure independence, sustainability, and security.
"In addition to improved IT security, cost-effectiveness, and data protection, the use of open-source software also enables seamless collaboration between different systems," officials said. "Alongside open-source software development, the goal is to release future development results of the country under free licenses."
The 30,000 employees of Schleswig-Holstein's local government will be moving to Linux and LibreOffice as the state pushes for what it calls "digital sovereignty," a reference to non-EU companies not gathering troves of user data so European firms can compete with these foreign rivals.
LibreOffice developer The Document Foundation celebrated the move with a post that highlighted the use of the term digital sovereignty, noting that proprietary, closed software can't be studied or modified, meaning it is very difficult to know what happens to users' data.
The Document Foundation added that with open-source software, local governments maintain full control, study its source code, make changes they require, and deploy it entirely on their own infrastructure. The organization also questioned why local governments should use taxpayers' money to buy proprietary software from a single vendor.
Question! Why should local governments use taxpayers' money to buy proprietary software from a single vendor? And what happens to citizens' data? A solution is to move to free software like Linux and LibreOffice – which is what Schleswig-Holstein is doing: https://t.co/P7cQJwEP7u pic.twitter.com/OuIHPlSteV – LibreOffice (@LibreOffice) April 4, 2024
Schleswig-Holstein's email servers, directory, and telephony software is also going open-source, with plans to use Nextcloud, Open Xchange/Thunderbird, and the Univention Active Directory (AD).
Speaking about the restrictions associated with proprietary software, the state's government said that "We have no influence over the operational processes of such solutions or the handling of data, including the possibility of data outflows to third-party countries."
The plans to go open-source were drawn up by Schleswig-Holstein back in 2021. At the time, one of the several reasons for the switch was Windows 11's hardware requirements. The jump to LibreOffice had a deadline of 2026 – there was no date set for ditching Windows.
The move could see other government agencies in Germany and the rest of Europe also drop propriety software for open-source alternatives, particularly as the European Commission recently found that its use of Microsoft 365 infringed several key data protection rules.
Munich, the capital of German state Bavaria, switched from Windows to Linux-based LiMux in 2004, though it switched back in 2017 as part of an IT overhaul. Wanting Microsoft to move its headquarters to Munich likely played a part in returning to Windows, too.
The move comes soon after China introduced new guidelines that will phase out US processors and software, including Windows, from its government computers and servers.
Last month saw Andres Freund, a PostgreSQL developer at Microsoft, discover malicious code that could break sshd authentication, potentially posing a huge threat to Linux. Thankfully, it was caught early.
MSOFT was hacked by chinese, read state department emails, and said they knew how to fix it, and the gov after investigation says MSOFT did not even know how the hackers gained access.
There is a huge movement away from MSOFT because of this. Most vulnerable is the 0365 stuff.
Interesting......
I’m still having trouble migrating a 14GB Outlook.pst file to Thunderbird. Without that, my migration to Linux is on hold.
Then there’s an equivalent for multilayer Acrobat, which is another can of worms.
Oh no doubt, MS365 is probably the worst product MS has ever put out. That’s why I stay away from it.
Is it the size of the file that’s making things difficult?
>Last month saw Andres Freund, a PostgreSQL developer at Microsoft, discover malicious code that could break sshd authentication, potentially posing a huge threat to Linux. Thankfully, it was caught early.
XZ Backdoor: Timeline and Overview
https://odysee.com/@seytonic:c/xz-backdoor-timeline-and-overview:6
Except for a few apps and programs, I don’t see why anyone would use MS as their primary operating system. Far better to have two separate drives with Linux as a primary (I like Mint) and MS as a secondary.
Of course work computers are different. MS does have a robust network ability and the ability to reload the OS remotely. Still, the overbearing feel, the intrusiveness of MS in general makes it a non starter for general home or small business use in my opinion.
Windows 11 disabled my Thunderbird.
I bought a refurbed laptop a few years back that has Libre Office installed. It works just fine for what I need to do, and it’s free.
I’ve had to do a restore on my Windows machine the last 4 times I let them update [I put the updates on hold for 5 weeks, then I get force-updated, similar to rape].
Several years back I ran a Clam scan and it recommended removing LibreOffice. lol. I had no problem with it. LiberOffice is terrible anyway, although to be honest I never had to really dive into using it. As much as I dislike MS Office, particularly since they went to “ribbon” menus and decided to bury everything useful, I suspect windows will always dominate the business market.
Yes, and I use old emails from "Sent Items" a lot as a way to access links, documents, the dates of various photographs... I have not been successful at partioning the file by means of archiving pieces of it as once I archive, I no longer have immediate access.
I purchased software to do the job, but the results were a mess.
That would seem borderline illegal as it denies one's use of their own work product.
Thunderbird is a Mozilla product.
I bought an HP laptop with a ‘-s’ attached to its model name. It’s promoted to stand for ‘safe’ and ‘secure’, and ‘sales brochure’ because it only allows software from MS to be downloaded.
I barely us MS office at home. The spouse will not get away from it.
For me, I use LibreOffice almost exclusively.
My emails, writings, and photographs are my products.
If only we could do that with our elections systems and machines. All Open Source including the machines's specs. Of course the dems wouldn't be able to cheat that way which is why it should be done, state by state. Maybe Elon Musk will take up the project.
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