Europe is slowly ditching Microsoft: why it's happening & why it could fail.
Europe is slowly ditching Microsoft: why it's happening & why it could fail.
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every user converted to linux is a win
Any bit of user base growth helps get the ball rolling for future MS/USA missteps. Linux has just been getting better and easier year after year. It's been a 30 year marathon ready for another 30+ years of development
One alternative is that it only applies to companies that are listed as gatekeepers in the EU make it only hit megacorps
And at the same time we have the Jugendmedienstaatsvertrag in Germany (and with Germany as a strong force in the EU most likely everywhere in the EU soon) that will make all operating systems without fully integrated age restrictions illegal https://www.heise.de/en/news/Minors-protection-State-leaders-mandate-filters-for-operating-systems-10199455.html
Manufacturers of operating systems must then ensure that "only apps that correspond to the age specification or that have been individually and securely activated can be used". The installation of programs should only be possible via distribution platforms such as app stores that take the age rating into account and have an automated rating system recognized by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM).
This part of the law alone is impossible to implement on a open platform like Linux.
these types of laws usually come from the most technically illiterate people ever
Unfortunately yes!
Instrumenting a fascist society while pretending to protect children...
Yeah, as it is so often
Since it is impossible to implement on Linux, it may just be flagged as adult-only software.
But, there is still hope. What if Snaps and Flatpaks get properly flagged, allowing Ubuntu and/or Fedora to be legal?
This part of the law alone is impossible to implement on a open platform like Linux.
What makes you think they won't simply make it illegal to use linux?
To make something illegal by law it is needed to have a valid reason for that law to exist. This is the case at least in every jurisdiction that has a somewhat functional separation of powers.
Due to this can't just make it illegal to use Linux, but with a Law like the Jugendmedienstaatsvertrag it comes as a free bonus.
I think that if Linux is to be more widely adopted a more easily used distro needs to become mainstream. Let's face it, the average computer user barely knows how to use Windows, just because you find Linux easy doesn't mean they will.
Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?
Actually, my mother knew how to use Debian before she could use Windows. Her first pc came with Windows XP, switched that for Debian as its been my main OS since 2000.
Yes, you can teach your grandmother to use Linux.
Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?
My 50+ yo mother uses Linux Mint daily with fewer problems that when she used Windows. Her crowning achievement in IT is learning how to use email.
I helped my 93 yo friend switch from Windows 10 to Linux 2 years ago. He called me 3 times in the first 2 weeks to ask how to do something, but hasn't had a single problem since that's related to the OS.
Linux Mint, Bazzite, Fedora, and several other Linux distros are already easier to use than Windows. The only thing holding most people back is fear of change.
There are some people who have specific setups in Windows or a large number of "Windows only" apps, but these people are in the minority. The average person can't even tell you which operating system they're currently using, and wouldn't notice the difference if you swapped the OS but kept the same web browser.
Teaching people without computing skills to use linux is actually easier than teaching windows. Most trouble people have with linux comes from being used to windows and having difficulty to adapt.
Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?
Yes. Set automatic package updates, Install firefox with ublock and put it on the taskbar, and bookmark Facebook and Youtube for her. It is the same thing as under Windows.
I would argue that for the most "tech illiterate" users the Linux experience can be made even easier than the windows experience, because you have to set up everything for them anyways.
Completely "tech illiterate" broser-only users are fine. It gets difficult once they happen to actually want to do something.
I have an older relative in that boat, and she was doing fine until she wanted to install some VPN to access foreign Netflix libraries. That was more difficult. Especially because she already paid for the service and that service didn't support her distro, thus there was no guide on how to use it.
Hopefully this helps increase adoption. Maybe in a few years GNU+Linux will have 10% of the desktop operating systems market. Maybe even Wine won’t be necessary anymore except for legacy software.
It can't fail, unless MS pulls a monopoly stunt or bribe politicians... There's only a win, by ditching MS...
The German state of Bavaria once did something in the direction of moving away from MS. When Microsoft put their German headquarters into Munich the idea was scraped.
The HQ in Munich and nice bag full of cash in the hand of someone.
They try this every 5 years or so. Microsoft gives them some short term discounts and they come running back back.
They didn't just give them a discount, and it was only a very small part of Europe you are talking about. It was Munich, and MS also moved a lot of workplaces to the city, to bribe it...
It's different this time around.
The previous attempts were about freeing themselves from an abusive unprincipled data-hungry big data monopoly,
This attempt is about freeing themselves from an abusive unprincipled data-hungry big data monopoly operating in a fascist country and in cahoots with the regime.
I reckon it's serious this time.
Hell, I'm in Silicon Valley here in California, and some of my friends are also jumping off the proprietary ship because those large firms are willing to work hand in hand with federal agencies.
If you've read the NSA document disclosures by Edward Snowden, it's apparent that there is an open door for data requests. The current administration isn't a huge fan of California's diversity, so we might as well minimize our chances of being targetted...
Yeah, I remember reading headlines like this in Linux websites back in 2014..
I wouldn't be so sure this time around.
The world is a big uncertainly and the force in Europe for digital sovereignty is something I never seen before.
The initiative to protect Europes boarders and data information is justified.
Good F#$%^ riddance.
I am all for ditching Microsoft, but why should this post be in this community? There are also Android, Mac OS, and all kinds of BSD.
None of what you listed is a viable alternative for a myriad of reasons. Only GNU+Linux can replace Windows.
- Android: a mobile OS first and foremost with very limited usability as a general purpose desktop operating system.
- MacOS: hardware from one vendor only.
- *BSD: more niche with even lesser support than GNU+Linux.
What's wrong with going back to pen and (e-)paper for office? My point is, if you are going to post something in the community, the word "linux" shall at least be in the title.
Good title example: Europe is slowly ditching Microsoft for Linux
It's nobody's fucking business when someone ditching Microsoft, then adopt BSD, Solaris whatnot. What matters to this community is someone adopting or ditching Linux, or they do something remotely related to it.