IDG.net: German parliament considers Linux switch

Oct 16, 2001, 17:04 (20 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Rick Perera)

Mikael Pawlo writes:

As reported by Gnuheter and IDG.net the German Parliament--Bundestag--is considering to migrate from a Microsoft platform to Linux. The main reason is security concerns. The Bundestag run about 5.000 computers. A committee is investigating the issue and they are supposed to report by late 2001 or early 2002. In either case they should be finished before Microsoft drops it's support for Windows NT.

"The Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, is exploring whether to ditch Microsoft Corp.'s Windows in favor of the open-source Linux operating system, partly due to security concerns.

A parliamentary committee is due to decide late this year or early in 2002 which operating system to use once it's time to replace Windows NT, the software currently in use on Bundestag machines, said Volker Schroer, an adviser to the Social Democratic party faction in the Bundestag.

'The basic problem is that Microsoft is ending its support for NT at the end of 2002; you can continue to use it for a while, but then you have to upgrade or switch,' he said."

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