Linux in the News: Week in Review

by Willy Smith

This has been an interesting week for Linux. News reports and government announcements indicate that it has gained even more acceptance in Europe and the Far East. At the same time, open source is being politicized in the US.

On Monday, the German government announced that it's putting Linux on government machines, starting with various ministry systems. According to the BBC, "Proponents of open source software for governments say the code is more bug-resistant and more secure--as well as saving huge amounts of money thanks to avoiding being locked into a single company's licensing fees..."

For some perspective, the next two articles are from the German press. (You can use Babelfish to translate them.)

From Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Germany: "Der Staat macht sich für Linux stark"

This one is also from Suedeutsche Zeitung: "Spielball der Politik" ("Linux: Political Football")

Even if you can't read German, take a look at this discussion forum, "Can The Linux Operating System Completely Replace Windows?" All you probably need to know is that Ja means "Yes".

This next article is from Kuro5hin and discusses the Taiwanese government's decision to move to Linux for both state and private use. If you think about it, this is big news.

Meanwhile, from the look of things behind the Green Curtain, open source may be the next member to join The Axis of Evil: "The white paper, Opening the Open Source Debate, from the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (ADTI), will suggest that open source opens the gates to hackers and terrorists."

Just remember folks, it's a lot safer to use open-source software if you're outside the US.

Willy Smith is a Grenadan nerd who lives with his wife and three daughters in Costa Rica.

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