Russia to adopt Linux as national operating system by 2015

[Resurrection]

Russia to adopt Linux as national operating system by 2015


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Although OS X has made great strides in the last half decade in regaining market share, the various permutations of Windows still rule most of the computing world, largely thanks to the reliance of enterprise and government networks. Now one of the largest and most powerful countries on Earth is ready to dump Microsoft as a client, and make no mistake… it’s a move indicative of a growing schism with the United States similar to that we experienced in the Cold War.

The country we’re talking about here is Russia, who plans to transition its computer infrastructure from Windows to open-source operating systems like Linux. The order was given by none less than Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who wants the transition completed by 2015… and who also wants to create a national repository for open-source applications similar to Apple’s App Store.

When we mentioned the Cold War earlier in this post, we didn’t mean to imply that Russia’s adoption of Linux would somehow lead to global nuclear war. However, it;s undeniable that Russia and America’s diplomatic relations have been frosty lately, especially when it comes to arms talks. Given that, Russia’s move to divorce its IT infrastructure from relying upon an American company’s operating system seems like another small step away from relying upon America.

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Very interesting topic for discussion...

Why did Russia decide to do this inspite of the huge costs it will require to
1.train workforce
2.Acquire proper licenses(isn't Linux free though?)
3.Develop user-friendly apps for Linux

Is it because Russia deems a closed source foreign software as a threat to it's security?
or is it because government wants to spend the money locally instead of paying to foreign commercial companies and thus help local software companies grow?

[Instab]

2.Acquire proper licenses(isn't Linux free though?)
3.Develop user-friendly apps for Linux

linux IS free unless you buy some enterprise versions. however even if you put an enterprise version on some of the machines you still can run countless machines with free versions.

app development is just about the same as for windows regarding the effort so no changes in that point. i.e. if the government used custom stuff in the past they had to develop that as well. no matter which os.

[ParamouR]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Its a good move by the Russians, with high piracy rates in Russia, it may be harder than expected to get businesses to move to this new option.

Use of Linux OS = More Security || More stable || FREE FREE FREE no cost whatsoever without paying a single dime. || Open Software Dev+ || Works on most Systems.

PS: And not to forget Russian's have some best know hackers there and all know Hackers use Linux for their ethical/unethical deeds!!

[Sazzy]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Its a good move by the Russians, with high piracy rates in Russia, it may be harder than expected to get businesses to move to this new option.

Use of Linux OS = More Security || More stable || FREE FREE FREE no cost whatsoever without paying a single dime. || Open Software Dev+ || Works on most Systems.

PS: And not to forget Russian's have some best know hackers there and all know Hackers use Linux for their ethical/unethical deeds!!

I don't understand what piracy has to do with a more secure OS. I think it's just as easy for an experienced cracker to develop a crack for a paying linux app as it is for a windows app.

On another note, am I the only one seeing the bigger problem here? "national os" ? Ppl still can't chose things themselves over there or what :/ ?

[caballero]

On another note, am I the only one seeing the bigger problem here? "national os" ? Ppl still can't chose things themselves over there or what :/ ?

If governments choose Linux/mac long time ago, windows would be dead or almost dead by now. People do choose, there are many users who use systems other than Windows. One might argue that Windows is widely spread because of its simplicity and it has nothing to do with governments. I think governments/organisations gave it a good start to win the race for the global OS.

[Instab]

If governments choose Linux/mac long time ago, windows would be dead or almost dead by now. People do choose, there are many users who use systems other than Windows. One might argü that Windows is widely spread because of its simplicity and it has nothing to do with governments. I think governments/organisations gave it a good start to win the race for the global OS.

windows is so popular because most people don't know anything else. and to keep it that way the öm deals are what let's microsoft stay in that position.
go somewhere and buy a box or a laptop. what do you get with it? right, windows ^^

[caballero]

windows is so popular because most people don't know anything else. and to keep it that way the oem deals are what let's microsoft stay in that position.
go somewhere and buy a box or a laptop. what do you get with it? right, windows ^^

Exactly, and it's not the choice of oem to put windows in their computers (if they did put some other OS they will lose, why will they lose? As you have said, because most people don't know anything else> who's responsible for this?.............). If we discuss this in depth, we would go into deep conspiracies, Windows is not the only thing that is forced to be the global product.

[Sazzy]

While Instab is indeed right, that is not due to the governments. That's just a smart move from MS a long time ago and they profited well from it. Still do... You can't blame them for trying to make money. You would do the same thing. If OS X for instance came preinstalled on most machines, we would be bullsh*tting about Apple right now rather than MS. The same goes for linux distributions. You could also say this about the iPhone coming with a certain phone provider... (See Apple is just as bad after all!) If macs would have been "forced" on people, everyone would have to buy overpriced stuff today, which I can hardly call better.

Also, get the facts straight. You're not being forced, no one is forcing anyone. These days, a lot of companies that sell laptops with windows preinstalled (like for instance, Dell) will gladly listen to you complain that you do not want windows, they will gladly come to remove it from your laptop and refund the cost. I have a friend that bought a dell and did this with every little piece of software that wasn't free that came with the dell laptop. He got back all the money without even having to try too hard. Fact is that it comes preinstalled cause that's just what most people want. I remember Dell trying to sell computers with linux installed on it and just stopped doing it.

As a final note, let's be honest... Most people aren't interested in linux. Even today, trivial things like installing certain apps is too hard for the general user. And you can't play games on it, something most people want as their kids like games. As for macs, have you seen the prices of those things :/ ?! And people wonder why windows is the most used OS...

People like to point fingers way too fast these days. Not to mention they see conspiracies everywhere.

[caballero]

I don't know how you understood being forced into it but the fact that many people think 'windows is computers' is certainly not something normal. It's the way Microsoft do business, they make money but at the same time they fight the spread of other companies (don't ask me how ). There was this thing recently about Internet Explorer and how Microsoft is doing its best to show it as being 'the internet' (I know lots of people who think the internet is this fancy 'e' with the golden ring!), Microsoft was then forced to put/advertise this so people will know that there are other browsers.

[Instab]

I don't know how you understood being forced into it but the fact that many people think 'windows is computers' is certainly not something normal. It's the way Microsoft do business, they make money but at the same time they fight the spread of other companies (don't ask me how ). There was this thing recently about Internet Explorer and how Microsoft is doing its best to show it as being 'the internet' (I know lots of people who think the internet is this fancy 'e' with the golden ring!), Microsoft was then forced to put/advertise this so people will know that there are other browsers.

sure, the (sadly) usual marketing tricks but other companies do the same. dösn't make it better of course

[Sazzy]

but the fact that many people think 'windows is computers' is certainly not something normal.

I dare bet you to say that in the near future, people will say "iphone is cellphone". I don't think anyone will tell me otherwise, seeing how many people have one already. And each new release it just gets sold more and more.

There was this thing recently about Internet Explorer and how Microsoft is doing its best to show it as being 'the internet' (I know lots of people who think the internet is this fancy 'e' with the golden ring!), Microsoft was then forced to put/advertise this so people will know that there are other browsers.

That and Microsoft is also releasing the N packages which don't include stuff like their media player, media center and what not. Seems like they're not forcing you to do much these days
As a side note, I do realise that MS was forced to take these steps, but in the end, if I made a media player and an OS, you could bet your ass that I would include said media player into my OS.

[slikrapid]

On another note, am I the only one seeing the bigger problem here? "national os" ? Ppl still can't chose things themselves over there or what :/ ?

sure, russia is not that different from usa in global trends, they have been 'westernized' (capitalism/corporatism), this may be just a populist way to bolster some national pride (or echoing communist elements, like nationalization), trying to remind the rest how their power has not faded away

as for the rest, the OS-war is just another deception similarly to the cold-war, since the seemingly opposed sides have more in common than one might think, what they practice (the top control levels) is the so-called loyal competition or 'concurrence loyale' (only in terms of their level, not globally) ie. a competitive cooperation & a cooperative competition, whereas publicly it gets perceived as opposition or even war (supported by the occasional sacrificed pawns) - the real war is about getting the people/majority/citizens to consume/embrace/follow/serve/believe/trust/choose/align, not to question or criticize or dig deeper or seek transparency/clarity/accountability/understanding, its a war for power & control led by global/local authorities underlined with an ever-flowing stream of money & unhindered commerce, where freedom takes a back seat to all kinds of populist phrases & constructions (fi. political correctness, democracy, security)

they don't want you to make truly/freely individual decisions, they want you to choose from those choices they give you in a prepared/pre-planned/pre-arranged way (conformist) and to think how you're free/independent/whathaveyou

That and Microsoft is also releasing the N packages which don't include stuff like their media player, media center and what not. Seems like they're not forcing you to do much these days

its a triviality, one is still using their OS after all (the bottom line)

[Blocker]

For me it's great news that means more people will be interested in developing the open source operating system

Linux is a better OS IMHO but it's just not as spread as windows or mac in the whole world

[Sazzy]

its a triviality, one is still using their OS after all (the bottom line)

You completely missed the point there ;o)

[SBfreak]

Enterprise versions mean nothing.It's the linux enterprise support that matters.In a future where linux grows more solid who will be the base user ? "That guy who knows nothing other than windows"
It's hard,extremely hard,impossible to make your migration from a os to another and get a positive feeling out of it,and it's mostly because people expect windows out of linux.
Me: Where the hell is My computer;
Linux: Windows noob,there is NO My Computer!