2012 May 07 archive at Robert Pogson

Archive for May 7th, 2012

Rain

Published by Robert Pogson May 7th, 2012 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

I have planted about 40% of the area of my yard with grass-seed and in the parts I have watered there are sprouts. Several days of rain are forecast this week so I should have a good crop in a few weeks. It’s gentle rain, too, so no danger of the seed being washed away. I have all my seedlings out of doors now and most of the tomatoes and caragana are in the ground. In a few days, I should have my garden planted weeks ahead of the “normal” data of expected the frost-free season, thanks to global warming and el-nino.

The long-range forecast is looking good. The accepted “frost-free” data is May 24. Last year, I planted a few peppers about this time and had to water them all night a couple of times in May to prevent freezing.

- Robert Pogson

Evolution of GNU/Linux in German Government

Published by Robert Pogson May 7th, 2012 in technology. 0 Comments

2002: IBM signs Linux deal with Germany.Germany’s Interior Minister, Otto Schilly, said the move would help cut costs and improve security in the nation’s computer networks.
“We are raising computer security by avoiding a monoculture, and we are lowering dependence on a single supplier,”
2002 – Munich studied 5 alternative IT systems and in 2004, decided to go with GNU/Linux + OpenOffice.org and web applications.
2008 – “The Foreign Ministry is migrating all of its 11.000 desktops to GNU/Linux and other open source applications. According to Schuster, this has drastically reduced maintenance costs in comparison with other ministries. “The Foreign Ministry is running desktops in many far away and some very difficult locations. Yet we invest only one thousand euro per desktop per year. That is far lower than other ministries, that on average invest more than 3000 euro per desktop per year.“
2011 – The Foreign Ministry announces they will be going back to that other OS after years of using GNU/Linux…
2011 – after using GNU/Linux desktops for ten years and increasing numbers of PCs in use tenfold, the city of Scwabish Hall, has a lot of satisfied users. (article: Wikipedia – Schwabisch Hall) Even though Schwabisch Hall has only 37K residents, the 400 PCs running GNU/Linux in the government don’t get counted because NetApplications shows only 1.68% GNU/Linux in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg (10million). They show no data for Schwabisch Hall.
2011 – Gummersbach: ‘Open source desktops much easier to manage’“Easier management is one of the main reasons for the German city of Gummersbach to switch its almost 350 PCs to the open source operating system GNU/Linux, a move that began already four years ago. One of the IT administrators, Dirk Hennrichs: “Our Linux desktops need close to zero maintenance, making them light years easier to manage than their proprietary predecessor.”"
2012 – Munich expect to complete its migration.

Even though there have been some tribulations, it seems GNU/Linux use in government will continue to evolve in Germany. It’s certainly on the radar and the pros and cons have been weighed. There are even committees and accumulated knowledge on migration. I expect the advantages of GNU/Linux will cause continued growth in this area.

- Robert Pogson

My Mission

My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. I do not care whether my solution is the same as yours. I like to think for myself.

My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. I have been blessed by working in schools where students and school systems have benefited by good, modular software easily installed in most systems.

I have shown GNU/Linux to thousands of students and hundreds of teachers over the years and will continue in some way doing that until I die in spite of the opposition.