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Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 13:03:02 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: German Information Center <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: wk_03_01_02 The Week in Germany March 1, 2002 Editors: Valerie Belz and Margaret Dornfeld e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ... Bundestag Opens Way to Increased Competition in Operating Systems A parliamentary commission has recommended that the Bundestag adopt Linux, a free, open-source-code operating system, on all 150 servers of its computer network. On Thursday (February 28), an information and communication technology advisory group counseled the German parliament to implement this 'strategic measure', which opens the way for greater institutional acceptance of Linux, seen by many as the David to Microsoft's Goliath. The decision was prompted in part by Microsoft's announcement that it will soon stop supporting Windows NT, the system that now runs on most computers used by the Bundestag. Some 5,000 PCs used by parliamentarians will continue to run on Microsoft products and will be outfitted with Windows XP, the U.S. software giant's newest operating system, the commission also announced. IuK spokesman Uwe Kuester said the decision was based in large part on a need to free the government from dependence on the developments and licensing policies of a single company and on Linux's more robust immunity to viruses and crashes. Parliament member Joerg Tauss, an outspoken Linux advocate, said he had nothing against Microsoft, but felt a ^�monoculture^� based on the products of one manufacturer limits competition and makes the government's computer systems too susceptible to malfunctions. The cost of converting the Bundestag's servers to Linux over the next five year is estimated at 9.5 million euros (US$8.3 million), Kuester said. ...
