Korea Plans to Choose Linux City, University 207
thefirelane wrote to mention an ambitious plan in the works by the South Korean government. Work is underway to choose a city, which will become a place where open-source software will become the mainstream operating system. From the article: "The selected government and university will be required to install open-source software as a main operating infrastructure, for which the MIC will support with funds and technologies. In the long run, they will have to migrate most of their desktop and notebook computers away from the Windows program of Microsoft, the world's biggest maker of software. 'The test beds will prompt other cities and universities to follow suit through the showcasing of Linux as the major operating system without any technical glitches and security issues,' Lee said. "
Food, supplies (Score:1)
Maybe now, the North Koreans will have a byte [sic] to eat.
Re:Food, supplies (Score:2)
But will it run starcraft?
Re:ROFL (Score:2)
Where have I seen this before?
Ah, yes; the original post!
Universities and schools (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Now if you can get rid of the MS Tax on new PC's then the balance would be restored.
Re:Universities and schools (Score:5, Insightful)
because they get enormous discounts to keep them on windows. at our university, microsoft charges us about 10% of list price. a year or two ago, every employee at our university was given free upgrade to the latest version of windows (i believe that was not only for their university systems but their home systems as well).
microsoft knows that universities with a computer science or engineering school could go linux if they wanted to, so they accept huge cuts to make the cost of software a non-argument.
That's not good enough. (Score:3, Insightful)
As the Softies are quick to point out, purchase costs are small parts of TCO. All the free beer in the world won't make up for time wasted on daily anti-virus runs, difficult place keeping due to short run times and an inadequate GUI. Even with co-operation of other M$ partners, the environme
Re:That's not good enough. (Score:2)
All the free beer in the world could make you too drunk to care though
Re:Universities and schools (Score:5, Insightful)
If list price is $500, and you get it at 10%, then it's still $50 more than linux.
The only thing keeping Microsoft going is momentum. That's it. They're not the best at anything except leveraging their monopoly through the use of anti-competitive business processes, and escaping being smacked down for it by the U.S. government, probably through some sort of not-explicitly-illegal funds transfer or something.
Schools in particular are not going to linux because educators are fucking lame. I am not making this up. These people can barely handle using Windows. If you change things so that certain items are in different menus, they will never ever find them. The really sad part is that pretty much every college specifies skills with Microsoft Office (For example) in the job description, yet they will hire people without any skills in this area whatsoever. But wait, it gets ten times better. These are schools we're talking about. They tend to have classes in this stuff. Do they require their staff to take the classes, and become educated? Fuck no.
When I've been in IT anywhere, I've always taken any chance to bring linux in as a server platform, pushing out NT at the slightest provocation. When I can, I support open standards, open source, and free software, because I think they're better for everyone (except billy G and the chair throwin' posse) and because I simply despise everything about Microsoft, especially their inability to produce a secure, reliable product.
But anyway, it has nothing to do with cost. If you could just get the users to buy into it you could eliminate the hours and hours of headaches from virii and worms, and you'd start saving money from the moment you converted the first machine (you'd start with whatever machines were stunk up with malware and having issues...)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:5, Interesting)
And add hours and hours of headaches from people who can't figure out what to do, glitchy software, or having to use a crappy clone of some Windows product that works better.
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Actually, I believe MS hand out a number of their products as freebees to universities in order to get the students hooked (along with free or heavilly discounted software development tools).
ISTR that the Swansea University Computer Society [sucs.org] (with it's quite well known connections to Linux) was offered freebee licences a few years ago on the condition that they ran Windows on _all_ the
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:5, Insightful)
I used to work IT in research center at a major university here in the U.S. and I can tell you many reasons why *I* stuck with Windows. First and foremost is the practical matter of professors coming to you saying "I need this particular piece of software installed on my computer." Telling them "Sorry, there is no Linux version of that available" simply was NOT an option, and would likely have gotten me pink-slipped pretty damn fast.
Hell, we used to upgrade professors to new computers just to run a *single* piece of software they wanted (often software that wasn't even related to their work). They weren't particularly interested in the why-and-why-nots of why they couldn't get something that they wanted, only that they couldn't get it. Many of the profs I worked with had the emotional mentality of 3-year-olds wanting a piece of candy.
-Eric
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Wow, please tell us the name of the university, I want to make I don't send my kids there.
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Well, unlike most IT departments, mine actually had to keep in mind that we were there to *serve*.
-Eric
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2, Insightful)
They are hoping to get more people using, developing, perhaps even vending OSS programs. Exciting potential partnerships for OSS developers in t
Re:Universities and schools (Score:3, Insightful)
We're talking about universities, not evening schools. If you need to learn MS software, there are plenty of "For Dummies" books you can read over a weekend -- don't waste your probably one and only shot at higher education learning how to operate a black box that will be obsolete in two years.
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
And learning to use a Linux desktop would make them stupid office workers?
if business, science and design students, plus the general highschool populace (who tend to learn very little about computers anyway) come out of the education system having only learned about linux, then they're going to walk into a brick wall when they start their first
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Actually, even (especially) in schools I think it would be massively beneficial to have Linux machines. I'm not advocating binning all the Windows machines. I've seen far too many people who have basically been trained how to use Windows like animals (i.e. "to start a word processor you click Start -> Programs -> Office -> Word") and can't accept a computer which is slightly different. Basically they haven't got any thinking skills.
When I was
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
There's a lot of professional grade software out there for professionals that runs as well or better on Linux than on any other operating system:
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
If you've never used Linux, AIX, Lotus Domino, etc., you get books, On-the-Job-Training, and certification assistance. You don't get overlooked because you need a little training, that's just plain ridiculous. No employer works that way because if they did, they'd never be able to hire anyone.
So, if that's the case with those tools, why would it be any different with Windows, MS Office, etc.??? It's not.
We once had an Operations Manager who took 4 solid hours to learn how to look up a par
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Schools aren't about what we're using today. Schools are about what we'll be using tomorrow. Your suggestion to indoctrinate another generation of IT professionals is harmful to the industry as a whole.
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
There are two labs that I use quite a bit on campus. One has about 40 computers in it, 30 are XP machines and the other 10 are the G4 iMacs. Th
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
BTW, I live in Wood Village, and I'm looking to see if anybody else in the area would be willing to vote for me, should I run against Karen Minnis this fall for her house seat to become the first socialist state rep in Oregon.
Re:Universities and schools (Score:4, Insightful)
Surely you want people at university to be trained and to learn new skills, it worked fine a few years ago when university systems were all unix or dos based. I know lots of people who read their mail using pine at university, it may not have looked very pretty but it worked very well and was problem free.
Re:Universities and schools (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, wait a minute, that's bollocks. The keys are in the same place, the mouse moves in the same directions, the options all have similar names and things generally work fairly similar. Anyone who learns like an adult and sees the abstract concepts behind actions, rather than learning like a child and blindly parrotting actions, will have little trouble adjusting.
The one big thing that catches people out is that rebooting a GNU/Linux PC almost never cures it of a fault, because GNU/Linux applications don't very often go unstable for no reason; so if anything is wrong, it is likely to be deliberate {as far as the computer is concerned} and if you didn't actually change any settings, the problem will still be there next time around. That's what we call "repeatable behaviour".
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
Re:Universities and schools (Score:2)
I ask one applicant recently, "Oh, you just graduated and you have Linux experience? Which distros?" He replies, "Oh, Redhat 6, but just from using it during class".
You think they train you to use Windows XP and to admin Exch
UNIX used to be the norm (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:UNIX used to be the norm (Score:3)
Re:UNIX used to be the norm (Score:2)
Re:UNIX used to be the norm (Score:2)
"It Just Works" Linux (Score:2)
I think everyone has been going down a blind path trying to make Linux run on every piece of cruddy hardware under the sun (although this may just be the way an organic, geek-user-run project goes); if I were a billionaire and had my own Linux distro, I'd concentrate on picking one set of easily available hardware, and making it run well on that.
People -- and this includes the people that make purchasing decisions at businesses and educational institutions -- want t
MIC=Ministry of Information and Communication(n/t) (Score:2, Informative)
Kudos to South Korea! (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, cue the distro wars...
Is that the way to go about it? (Score:4, Insightful)
Since when is forcing adoption the right thing to do? Is this forced switch really in the best interest of the students? What applications might they have to give up that don't have the equivelent in the open source world.
That is no better than MS forcing their software upon anyone they can. Not because it's necessarily better but because they can.
Re:Is that the way to go about it? (Score:2)
The larger vendors don't bother following standards, so your stuck with very limited (or no) choice, and can't easily have a diverse setup.
Consider in contrast to a company car, sometimes you get an allowance to obtain any car you can afford.. Your free to choose the car you want.
Once the IT industry matures, and protocols/formats become standardised, it will be a lot easier and there will no longe
Re:Is that the way to go about it? (Score:2)
Re:Is that the way to go about it? (Score:2)
Re:Is that the way to go about it? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Is that the way to go about it? (Score:2)
RTFA. The cities and universities are applying for the program.
Re:Is that the way to go about it? (Score:2)
I dunno. What are the chances that they can get the equivalent application in Korean for Windows?
Also, Koreans tend to have a bit more nationalist spirit than most western nations (remember the whole cloning stem cell debacle). If your choices were a home grown option versus an American co
Re:Is that the way to go about it? (Score:2)
I know exactly what you mean! When I went to school, I was forced to adopt Windows and Office. I had to give up a lot of applications that don't have the equivalent in the Windows world.
That is no better than MS forcing their software upon anyone they can.
Perhaps, but it's definit
Right Tool for the Job? (Score:3, Insightful)
The selected government and university will be required to install open-source software as a main operating infrastructure, for which the MIC will support with funds and technologies.
I thought the spirit of FOSS [or at least of /.] was supposed to be: USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB!!!
So what if M$FT Windows and M$FT Office ARE the right tools for the job? [Gasp! Horrors!! Oh the Humanity!!!]
How then would it be helping people to shove the wrong tool down their throats?
Yeah, yeah, bring it on: -1 Troll/Flamebait blah blah blah...
Re:Right Tool for the Job? (Score:2)
Re:Right Tool for the Job? (Score:2)
This is a huge overriding factor for many people, and in any other industry would be a massive problem for businesses too and yet for some reason they overlook it when buying computers (?!?) or have already been screwed over by the lock-in and are now stuck.
I would _NEVER_ lock my business in to a single vendor, that would be a grossly negligent act.
And when a company's products lock users in,
Re:Right Tool for the Job? (Score:2)
The enemy's products, whose source code you can't see, is the farthest possible thing from "the right tool for the job".
Re:Right Tool for the Job? (Score:2)
Rather, cities and universities can (and do) apply for this project which gives them financial support required for their voluntary switch to linux.
Re:Right Tool for the Job? (Score:2)
Hopefully, the Korean hardware manufacturers will improve their Linux support.
Re:Right Tool for the Job? (Score:2)
Oh Hellz Yes! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Oh Hellz Yes! (Score:2, Funny)
No technical glitches! (Score:4, Interesting)
Linux? No technical glitches? And he already proclaims this before the trial?
Boy, is he in for a shock...
Disclosure: I love Linux (for servers) and wouldn't choose anything else. But I sure have seen my share of "glitches"!
Performance is Relative. (Score:2)
I love free software as a desktop and have seen fewer glitches there than under Windoze. I get better than sixty day uptimes running testing/unstable, unheard of in the Windoze world. Sure, every now and then something barfs but it never takes the system down and rarely even bothers X. The same server grade networking continues to churn and never has problems. I use free software on des
Re:Performance is Relative. (Score:3, Insightful)
This also wasn't meant as a competition between Windows and Linux; I prefer OS X on the desktop. All the power of a unix (great for development) with a good looking gui that is more stable than Windows and more managable than all the Linux desktops I tried. ("things just work" isn't just a marketing slogan, I can testify) The only thing affecting my uptime there are updates that require a restart. (one every month, maybe)
But it is a premiu
Re:Performance is Relative. (Score:2)
I've used Korean Linux software. (Score:2)
As a Zaurus owner, I've used Hamcom software. It was OK in English, how bad could it be native?
Not the right way... (Score:4, Insightful)
it is volontary! (Score:2, Insightful)
From TFA (yes, I actually read it!):
``We will start to receive applications next week. After screening candidate cities and universities, the test beds are likely to be decided by late March, MIC director Lee Do-kyu said.
Re:Not the right way... (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, "the right tool for the job" may well be something bea
good move! (Score:5, Interesting)
I say if Microsoft is the answer to the question, it must have been a stupid question. Go Linux!! :-)
Re:good move! (Score:3, Informative)
SUSE Linux 10.0: $59.99
Microsoft Windows XP Pro: $199.99 (upgrade), $299.99 (full)
Where do you get that they cost the same?
Re:good move! (Score:2)
Re:good move! (Score:2)
Re:good move! (Score:2)
How do you test those domain-using apps on XP Home? Also, your pice for XP Home was for an upgrade, not the full OS.
Also, is XP (either Home or Pro) comparable to Linux at all? What compilers/interprets do they include? What web servers do they include? Oh, so even XP Pro has less for developers than SUSE Linux 10.0. Maybe we should compare it to a server versio
Re:good move! (Score:2)
Missing out on free software... (Score:3, Funny)
And the football mascot? (Score:2)
Whoa! (Score:3, Insightful)
Waaiiiit a minute. Be careful S. Korea. While some would say Linux is "better" than Windows, nobody said it was perfect. No techinical glitches and no security issues, IMPOSSIBLE.
That Windows program (Score:3, Insightful)
they will have to migrate most of their desktop and notebook computers away from the Windows program of Microsoft, the world's biggest maker of software
Calling Windows a "program" is a bit of an understatement. Remind me again how many gigabytes a minimal install of that program requires, and what OS it runs on. :)
Any news on Largo? (Score:2)
MMORPG's (Score:2)
Sad for America (Score:2)
Freedom be damned (Score:2, Interesting)
It's rarely decided by the majority of the users, but done on a cost/benefit analysis..or through lobbying.
As it stands right now, most of the public schools in america (and a good many private ones.. from K- Uni)push Microsoft, Dell, Apple, etc. and at times this wasn't what was best for the job, bu
Excellent choice for us all not just south korea (Score:3, Insightful)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/1999/09/05/microsoft
(not an ideal link)
It sure makes sense for korea to prefer to use something which is secure from foreign prying eyes.
South Korea is taking an obvious first step in removing a dependence on Microsofts operating systems. Why should they not want to reduce the flow of money out of their country by developing a free workable alternative. Linux isn't a perfect windows replacement yet however if the south koreans address the issues as it finds them. It seems reasonable they will develop a fully rounded version of linux that can go onto remove microsofts grip on south korea's infrastructure.
The really good news is if it works for them then it could work for the rest of the world too.
If you look at trusted computing microsoft is being trusted and why should anyone expect that between microsoft and the US goverment they can be trusted with the IP of another competing nation.
I am not being anti US here if you gave the keys to the worlds collective IP to any nation its a foregone conclusion that nation will use it to its own advantage.
Earth calling (Score:2)
Now I like Linux as much as the next, but to say there will be no technical glitches or security issues is poor project planning.
Welcome to Torvaldsville, S. Korea. (Score:2, Funny)
Welcome to Torvaldsville, S. Korea! Home of Torvalds University, home of the Fighting Penguins! GO PENGUINS! * Hums the Notre Damne Theme. *
Re:Welcome to Torvaldsville, S. Korea. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:In Corea... (Score:1)
And your affiliation with DreamHost is ?????????
Re:In Corea... (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:In Corea... (Score:2)
"Korea" derives from the Goryeo period of Korean history, which in turn referred to the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo. In the Korean language, Korea as a whole is referred to as Choson by North Korea and Hanguk ("Han Nation") by South Korea.
Re:In Corea... (Score:2, Interesting)
Great timing for the article: I'll start looking for a new job here the end of next month, and will certainly
Re:In Corea... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Doesn't smell like freedom though (Score:2, Insightful)
GPL is best for the big (Score:2, Interesting)
No per seat fees and you get the source. Who actually benefits? It is not much use to a sole trader. He cannot spare the time to fix bugs and recompile, and he is only saving one license fee.
On the other hand, you only have to fix a bug once. A large company can employ a few free software programmers to take advantage of access to the source. They can compare the costs to what they save on license fees. If they are big enough, they are bound to come out ahead.
It is completely natural for heads of large
Re:Why universities and schools are not Linux (Score:2)
No, I can't accept that sweeping statement. It isn't any harder to use than Windows. Most WMs use the same structure anyway - start->menu->program for example. If you really think the setting panel (or whatever is called) is easy to use then I think you have been borged too long.
Anyway, I have no idea what your puzzle does and I use Linux lots. There's literally no need to ever use a command line with a
Re:Why universities and schools are not Linux (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why universities and schools are not Linux (Score:2)
No, because if it was it would be taught in the first few weeks of the Introduction to Rocket Science I course.
Re:Why universities and schools are not Linux (Score:2)
What does that do then ?
Re:Why universities and schools are not Linux (Score:2)
It actually matters a great amount. There is no shortage of males who are computer literate and are willing to stop what they are doing when you have a question. Because you are female and this is one of the few chances that they get to interact with females. If you were male and had a question, and the other more computer-literate males thought that your question was 'stupid', then they would tell you that you were stupid and to just read the 2000 page
Re:Why universities and schools are not Linux (Score:2)
Well, just like it's the administrator's job to configure and install Windows properly at a university or government, it will be the administrator's job to configure and install Linux properly at a university or government.
It's true, that being preinstalled is a major advantage of Windows in the HOME market, but in the context of this story there is absolutely no difference.
Re:Hollow Victory (Score:2)
Unfortunately, microsoft has enough influence to destroy the concept of a free market, so government intervention is the only way to return to a free state.
Re:.NET (Score:2)