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A German state is ditching Windows and Microsoft Office for Linux and LibreOffice on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions (www.theregister.com)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's most northern state, is starting its switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, and is planning to move from Windows to Linux on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions.

Concerns over data security are also front and center in the Minister-President's statement, especially data that may make its way to other countries. Back in 2021, when the transition plans were first being drawn up, the hardware requirements for Windows 11 were also mentioned as a reason to move away from Microsoft.

Saunders noted that "the reasons for switching to Linux and LibreOffice are different today. Back when LiMux started, it was mostly seen as a way to save money. Now the focus is far more on data protection, privacy and security. Consider that the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) recently found that the European Commission's use of Microsoft 365 breaches data protection law for EU institutions and bodies."

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[–] rikudou@lemmings.world 1 points 7 months ago (2 children)

If you have to tweak it to make it good, it's bad.

[–] stephen01king@lemmy.zip 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

If you go by that logic, most things in FOSS would be considered bad, which is not true.

[–] rikudou@lemmings.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Well, most things are bad from UX perspective, it's just that people who use FOSS are used to that.

That's why only enthusiasts usually use FOSS.

Before you start throwing around the five or so exceptions that exist, I'm well aware, but it's just that - exceptions.

[–] Miaou@jlai.lu 1 points 7 months ago

If people got used to using windows, they can get used to even something like gimp. As you said, it's a matter of habit. But as someone who's tried to learn how to use windows for the past few months, I struggle to express how counterintuitive, unstable, and barely functioning everything feels

[–] Secret300@sh.itjust.works 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Damn windows and Mac are dog water then

[–] rikudou@lemmings.world 3 points 7 months ago

Both work out of the box really well. Sure, Windows will break inevitably, but it's usually few months before it does. Office looks really good. And that's all that matters.

You don't have to convince me, by the way, I've been using Linux for 15 years. But I've been in IT pretty much all of my adult life.

Until developers make stuff really good looking out of the box, FOSS will be still the ugly thing no one except IT people want to use.