Published by Robert Pogson June 23rd, 2012
in technology.
M$’s OS is still falling for a malware that has been active since 2010. This thing finds multiple ways to hide itself and in the process of setting up, creates huge print jobs that may drain hundreds of printers of paper. How many such horror stories do we have to read to know there is a better way to do IT than to accept any involvement in IT by M$?
This malware is not just malware. It exploits many intimate details of that other OS to make life difficult for everyone. It spams. It floods print-queues. It encrypts itself multiple ways. It uses files that should be data as executables. The horror that is that other OS just accepts such malware with open arms.
I recommend Debian GNU/Linux. It won’t execute data-files. It won’t open your PC like Pandora’s Box to a nightmare that could shut you down indefinitely. It won’t compromise your performance to pretend to “fight” malware while welcoming malware as an opportunity to sell more licences.
see Trojan.Milicenso: A Paper Salesman’s Dream Come True | Symantec Connect Community.
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 23rd, 2012
in technology.
There’s a new report/presentation on the current status. Some things have not changed. Some things have. Here’s an outline of the current status:
- 10500 PCs have migrated to GNU/Linux,
- 33000 employees,
- 1000 IT workers,
- 15000 PCs total,
- 51 locations,
- 22 independent IT departments,
- all PCs running FLOSS apps: OpenOffice.org, Thunderbird, and FireFox,
- training amounts to 1-2 days per employee split between the OS and OpenOffice.org and
- 95% of business applications have been dealt with.
Interestingly, they break down their new regime of business applications this way:
- 25% open (I guess able to run on the server and accessible by any OS),
- 30% Native GNU/Linux applications,
- 15% virtual (desktop or terminal server),
- 10% PCs running that other OS,
- 15% eliminated, and
- 5% unchanged, presumable still running on that other OS.
So, they see no show-stoppers, no reasons to keep that other OS on every PC in the place, and no fears of running “second-class” stuff. Clearly, going forward, the amount they will pay M$ for licensing is cut by a large factor, perhaps 80%.
Without regards to the details, it seems to me they could still reduce expenditures if they wanted. They do state that 150 million Euros is the total expense of IT. If they mean annually, that’s huge. If they mean for the migration, that’s huge. It’s not clear what time-frame that amount covers or what it covers. It’s consistent with cost-cutting not being their highest priority. I disagree with that. Economical IT is the best IT as long as it gets the job done. Clearly, GNU/Linux can do the job for them. The few remaining non-FLOSS applications they use could be replaced with a finite effort. They just have not made that effort yet.
It seems the Munich still has some reorganising to do since they call the IT departments “independent”. A while ago they stated they were going to centrally control things… Oh well. They are well within striking distance of having 12K PCs migrated to GNU/Linux by 2013 and they have not closed off any options for future changes. They have a robust and reliable system that works for them. Any system can still be improved but they have come a long way and should be congratulated for obtaining a lot of independence from M$ and its “partners”.
see Status of Limux as of June, 2012
- Robert Pogson
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