[x]Blackmoor Vituperative

Monday, 2007-01-22

Linux in 2006

Filed under: General — bblackmoor @ 11:50

While the operating system market is still dominated by Microsoft and shows little sign of changing that doesn’t mean that all other options have failed hopelessly because there were some significant gains made over the past 12 months. Below are some good examples:

  1. IBM will not use Windows Vista — but will move to Linux desktops
    IBM cancelled their contract with Microsoft last October which means that they will no longer use Windows for their desktops. Beginning July, IBM employees will begin using a Red Hat-based platform.
  2. The City of Chicago goes Linux, saves over 85 percent in the process
    Big elements such as the vehicle registrations
    system, online job applications, restaurant inspections and more were migrated to a Red-Hat system in order to reduce costs and improve support, performance and scalability.
  3. Munich opts to use Debian version of Linux
    The city of Munich has opted to use the Debian
    version of Linux for a high-profile, 14,000-computer installation, passing over Novell’s Suse Linux despite its regional popularity. Another massive win.
  4. Ubuntu is noted as being #27 in PCWorld’s 100 Best Products of the Year
    Clearly a great result being placed above the iPod, iTunes, Google Desktop, Flickr and other good products.
  5. Linux cuts Kent Police system costs by 90 percent by using SuSE
    Kent Police has cut the cost of running its major criminal investigations system by 90 percent using Novell Open Enterprise Server, the company’s version of SuSE Linux.
  6. Kerala (an Indian state) goes Linux
    Children in 12500 high schools in the state will not be taught Windows. Instead instructors are lining up Linux for them. Another good win for Linux.
  7. Venezuela’s Government Shifts to Open Source Software
    According to government sources in Venezuela, the South American nation has announced an official policy that exclusively calls for the use of open source software in that government.
  8. Korea migrates 120K civil servants to Linux desktop
    The Korean government is to buy 120,000 copies of Hancom Linux Deluxe this year, enough to switch 23 percent of its installed base Microsoft user to open source equivalents. So another 120,000 users.
  9. Dell refunds Linux users who ditch XP
    Dell, a massive player in the computer market have obviously accepted the need for this as an option for those users who do not wish to have Windows. A reasonably good gain as far as the consumer is concerned.

(from TechRepublic.com, Nine reasons why 2006 wasn’t a lost year for Linux)

2006 wasn’t a great year for me — I spent most of it alone in Richmond, away from Susan, doing one short-term contracting gig after another — but at least something good happened.