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Swiss boot out Linux in favour of Windows 7

Time: 14:16 EST/19:16 GMT | News Source: TechWorld | Posted By: Kenneth van Surksum

The government in the Swiss region of Solothurn has reportedly confirmed that it will turn to Windows 7 after hitting problems in a long-running desktop Linux migration project.

According to third-party Internet sources, the plan, whose origins go back as far as 2001, had been for the canton to have deployed Debian GNU/Linux distribution for desktop users, backed up by OpenOffice, the Scalix email system, Firefox and a number of KDE desktop applications.

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#1 By 8556 (173.27.244.6) at Wednesday, September 22, 2010 08:55:32 PM

I agree that after 9 years of the Canton of Solothurn's (population 245,000) incompetence in dealing with Linux, it's time to throw in the towel.

#2 By 28801 (65.90.202.10) at Thursday, September 23, 2010 06:50:21 AM

This gives new meaning to the phrase "This is the decade of Linux".

#3 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at Thursday, September 23, 2010 08:05:01 AM

I'm shocked that the hand of Microsoft is nowhere to be seen here. Instead of dirty tricks as I expected, it was inept, bungling government IT. However, I do have to wonder how Switzerland, with its supposed heavy Linux tilt, has a news media mocking them through the whole thing. What's up with that agenda?

#4 By 8556 (173.27.244.6) at Friday, September 24, 2010 04:08:30 PM

#3: Maybe the lesson here is that Microsoft, with their Partners, help customers set up and learn to use their software, while the many Linux distros have no such infrastructure in place. All Linux variations compete with each other and also with Microsoft. Without a knowledgeable person in place the Linux distros will continue to stay a niche desktop OS at ~1% total market share. That's too bad because Linux really can save money as long as idiots (in this case local and regional government bodies) aren't the ones doing the deployment.

#5 By 23275 (172.16.10.136) at Friday, September 24, 2010 05:08:46 PM

Perhaps it is very simple, perhaps it is that with Microsoft, there are more "knowns" than there are "unknowns" and with the Linuces it is the reverse and that upon discovering this, in this case, time and costs favored Windows 7 over the benefits assumed to exist within the FOSS/OSS mix.

"let the requirements and practical considerations drive." I don't much like Cache (the database technology), because too few know how to leverage it and way too many devs end up using its embedded cut-down Apache web server, vice installing a separate version of Apache (even on Windows) or using IIS 7/7.5. Regardless of the OS, or the beef in the hardware, if so configured (as many do), the app will hit a ceiling if exposed to much use.
That said, whether I like it or not doesn't matter - I still have to support it for many medical applications and practice suites, because Cache is what is used by many developing software in that industry.

I'm not especially fond of RHAS, or their commercial support costs for udpates (which are required of places like banks subject to regulation by the FDIC and other). I prefer to use less costly and what I think are more capable tools on a proven baseline. Regardless, sometimes the requirements differ and we run them, or as is most often the case, run a mix. In all cases, the requirements of the developer ultimately decide such issues. Ultimately, they have the product the customer bought and one has to support them if it is to work. In so many cases, people develop on and for Windows clients and servers using Microsoft tools - so why are we suprised it works this way?

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