Robert Pogson

"We feel that customers will get a great experience having a Linux distribution that is maintained by the Debian community. Debian and derivatives thereof (such as Mint and Ubuntu) are among the most popular on the Internet, and Google itself is a heavy contributor to the Debian code base. We will also continue to offer CentOS, and are actively exploring other operating system options based on feedback from our customers," a Google spokesperson told us when we asked about the reason for the change.”
see Google's cloud dumps custom Linux, switches to Debian

It makes me laugh to remember all the times trolls have come here to berate me for being an amateur and using Debian GNU/Linux. Well, the shoe’s on the other foot. Google has just endorsed Debian GNU/Linux as their new default GNU/Linux OS for their cloud. Not only that but Google is contributing to Debian and valuing the brand of “Official Debian GNU/Linux”. I guess Google’s customers value that brand as well. Google does give customers what they want unlike other providers who seek to enslave customers.

In Netcraft’s latest survey, M$ is down to 11% of active sites surveyed and 12.3% of the million busiest sites. Interestingly, the former number is off 1% and the latter, off 1.3% in the last month.

see May 2013 Web Server Survey | Netcraft.

So much for the infallible wisdom, knowledge or creativity of M$. Not only is M$ in decline but two FLOSS web servers are ahead of them, Apache and nginx. M$ is back in the pack with “other” and Google. Does anyone imagine that M$ would not be sharing considerable space with */Linux on retail shelves in a free market? Why do governments and retailers tolerate that abuse of the market?

I found an interesting article about how businesses can use GNU/Linux thin clents. It covers all the important stuff…
“Implementing thin-client solutions achieves a number of benefits, including lower costs, easier maintenance, and an enhanced customer presence. Costs are reduced because the client’s hardware needs are less than solutions that require full, local-client functionality. Maintenance is easier because all the software maintenance is done on the server, because no software resides on the thin client itself. In fact, some businesses using thin-client solutions simply replace a failing thin client rather than perform maintenance on it. Again, because no software runs on the client, no configuration is needed on the replacement hardware. Finally, a thin-client solution can enhance customer presence because it lets a business safely provide access to customers within an environment that can be fully controlled and secured from the server.”
see How to Implement Open-Source Solutions: Thin Clients | Systems Management content from iPro Developer
…except there’s something terribly wrong with assuming the purpose of the thin client is to run applications on M$’s OS. A computer running GNU/Linux can do anything that a computer running M$’s OS can do but GNU/Linux will be better, faster and cheaper. That’s why TFA suggest using GNU/Linux on all the other infrastructure.

It’s past the time that we should assume the use of applications that are M$-only. That’s just plain silly. More computers were shipped with Android/Linux last year than M$’s OS. Why not assume Android/Linux “apps”? Why not replace M$-only applications with FLOSS applications that the world can use for $0? The world is huge compared to M$ and “partners” and can make its own software. The world has better office suites (better compliance with open standards), better browsers (faster, less malware), and better servers than M$ and “partners” (faster, greater uptime and throughput). Why the Hell should we put up with applications that run only on that faulty/defective-by-design OS?

Wake up! FLOSS should be the default solution and applications on that other OS a temporary solution while alternatives are found/created.

With the obvious reliability of GNU/Linux and Apache web-server we have been a bit too relaxed. Unlike those folks running that other OS who get zero-day attacks every few weeks, we have to wait a year or so for something interesting to come along…
“The ongoing attacks, estimated to have infected 20,000 websites in the past few weeks alone, are significant because of their success in targeting Apache, by far the Internet’s most popular Web server software. Once it takes hold, Darkleech injects invisible code into webpages, which in turn surreptitiously opens a connection that exposes visitors to malicious third-party websites, researchers said. Although the attacks have been active since at least August, no one has been able to positively identify the weakness attackers are using to commandeer the Apache-based machines.”
see Exclusive: Ongoing malware attack targeting Apache hijacks 20,000 sites

Fortunately there are millions of Apache sites, so mine might survive until a fix is released. It could be nothing more than weak passwords/keys or a vulnerable web-application. Stay tuned.

“In the company’s annual IT report released earlier this month, CIO Kim Stevenson credited the BYOD program with saving each employee about 57 minutes per workday.”
see Efficiency on the rise as BYOD expands at Intel

The idea that a monopoly based on M$’s OS is the right way to do IT fails on every front:

• cost,
• performance, and
• flexibility.

I recommend Debian GNU/Linux for most tasks in IT. It’s low cost, fast and flexible. It’s licence and modularity and the fact that it’s open source provide huge benefit to any organization using it.

Two small/medium-sized businesses in Kenya have evolved to use FLOSS extensively, saving money and having fewer headaches:
“Does open source have a place in the enterprise outside experimenters? find out how Radio Africa group is running almost entirely on open source and how Madison insurance has blended in the open "sauce’ to derive the best benefits of both worlds.”
see allAfrica.com: Kenya: Open Source

The story goes into the various choices available for infrastructure and production. Some users still use Macs for video-editing. Perhaps LightWorks‘ imminent release for GNU/Linux will change that.

Here’s a nugget.
“An average Dell laptop with Windows 7 costs KSh. 72,000 due to licensing. The same laptop supplied without an OS or with Ubuntu costs between KSh. 59,000 and KSh, 61,000. Every machine bought thus saves the company KSh. 10,000 to KSh. 15,000 due to licenses.
Further reductions in costs come from elimination of antivirus licenses. “Previous, I had an antivirus for every single machine on Windows. Here, I am bringing a system that is maybe prone to malware, but not prone to viruses,
Okech says managing the machines on Ubuntu from a central location is much easier. He is able to push security updates and patches, restore systems much more easier than he finds it under Windows. This he says he couldn’t manage with Windows and that the remaining Windows machines also need to be managed individually due to stuff such as antivirus updates. This he does using an OpenLDAP which provides authentication and policies for all workstations.” That’s exactly my experience with GNU/Linux versus XP/”7″ in schools. Could there be a fundamental truth that FLOSS is the right way to do IT if you care about price/performance? Clearly some people are able to buy Dells with GNU/Linux despite what the trolls tell us. These companies have hundreds of employees using GNU/Linux.

I recommend Debian GNU/Linux instead of Ubuntu GNU/Linux because Debian does not make random choices in UI for you but leaves every option open.