Windows and Microsoft Office are being replaced with Linux and LibreOffice in this German state

TechSpot ^ | 5 April 2024 | Rob Thubron

[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.

[dayglored]

Windows to Linux switch ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks to ShadowAce and Red Badger for the pings!

[itsahoot]

I suspect windows will always dominate the business market.

And I expect Sears to always be there anchoring every mall.

[itsahoot]

Maybe Elon Musk will take up the project.

If Trump is not sworn in then it won't matter anymore, we can just start reporting to train stations to get the life we deserve.

[itsahoot]

I knew I should have bought a Mac, but even they have some quirky limitations.

Get an Intel Mac and still run Windows if you must. Some pretty powerful old Iron out there, get the best of both. Actually you get all three, if you want. Then there are also emulaters even for the new Apple Silicon.

[daniel1212]

https://www.wikihow.com/Import-a-PST-File-to-Thunderbird Seems a common method is creating a gmail account, connecting it to your outlook account via IMAP, getting all your outlook into gmail, then setting up gmail as an email account in Thunderbird to get the copy of outlook that you made in gmail, into thunderbird.

I had no real problem moving Thunderbird, Firefox, Vivaldi LibreOffice to W/11 and even did a clean install (due to this bug). However, I use Thunderbird portable as well as many copies of Firefox portable and a couple of Vivaldi stand-alone (I also have a copy of LibreOffice portable I can run concurrently with the normal install) on a separate partition or drive. I also save my user profile and migrate old files to the new install as needed. You do need to know what to look for.

Also, there are many safe free tweaker programs, as posted on here, by the grace of God.

To learn how to achieve all this (at link) and more on a Linux distro (Puppy is my favorite) would take me more time than is presently warranted.

[kiryandil]

Thanks for this info! :)

[minnesota_bound]

With Microsoft OneDrive copying all your files to microsoft’s computers and probably China and Russia and who knows who else, your files are not safe.

[Openurmind]

“Yep, looks like an illegal contract (and therefore void). Might make an interesting class action.”

Finding a judge who does not honor a contract is nearly impossible. We live in a contract legal system. You agreed and you are bound by that agreement.

[Carry_Okie]

When I am told of such an implied contract, I like to joke that, not only am I aware of and understand the terms, but also the totality of case law therewith.

We have allowed construction of a legal system in this country that no one fully understands. It therefore mass produces very profitable disputes.

[Openurmind]

The real legal issue with these contracts is the “arbitration” clause they now include. They have you locked in to a legal situation where you have agreed you can’t even take them to court if you wanted to. And it is just as real and legally effective as a release of liability agreement. And just like corporate Human Relations is supposed to be a neutral third party, they own and pay for the arbitration party themselves. Pretty hard to beat a rigged game that tight.

[Carry_Okie]

And just like corporate Human Relations is supposed to be a neutral third party, they own and pay for the arbitration party themselves. Pretty hard to beat a rigged game that tight.

Hopefully we can eventually convince a few to break ranks with that conflict of interest. The opportunity is to get enough corporate dicks to see this game of musical chairs for what it is. Nobody wins the way the game is played now.