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597 points doener | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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GnarfGnarf ◴[] No.46181666[source]
I'm a Windows/macOS developer, but I strongly feel that all national governments need to convert to Linux, for strategic sovereignty. I'm sure Microsoft, under orders from the U.S. government, could disable all computers in any country or organization, at the flick of a switch.

Imagine how Open Source Software could improve if a consortium of nations put their money and resources into commissioning bug fixes and enhancements, which would be of collective benefit.

Apart from a few niche cases, the needs of most government bureaucracies would be well served by currently available OSS word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and graphics software.

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myaccountonhn ◴[] No.46181848[source]
I agree, but it also feels like it would be so difficult. It requires a ton of training, the UIs are not flashy so people are going to feel repulsed (I unironically found looks to be a big blocker when adopting open source tech) and finally Microsoft is going to lobby incredibly hard against it. I wouldn't put it past Microsoft to actively sabotage any adoption.
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blibble ◴[] No.46183204[source]
not being able to be coerced by the US regime is a huge strategic requirement that no amout of lobbying by microsoft will be able to overcome
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1. ThrowawayR2 ◴[] No.46183367[source]
The employees don't care about software sovereignty. They just want to do their jobs and get their paychecks. Fail to win them over and the transition will fail as well.
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2. blibble ◴[] No.46183533[source]
you might be right if it was american employees

germans have been quite riled up by US escapades