The German state of Schleswig-Holstein will replace Windows with Linux as its operating system.
The state government hopes to replace Windows with Linux on 25,000 computers in schools and offices, Its Foss News claims. They will also install LibreOffice, a suite of free office software, as a replacement for Microsoft Office.
Switching all those PCs to Linux will take time. The Document Foundation reports the switch will take until 2026. The Document Foundation is the nonprofit entity that built LibreOffice. Schleswig-Holstein’s state parliament mandated the switchover.
State Government Switches to Linux
The Windows replacement is an effort to save the taxpayers’ money by adopting open-sourced apps by Digital Minister Jan Philipp Albrecht. Yes, the state government has a Digital Minister. Hence, the German government, at least in Schleswig-Holstein, is more advanced in terms of technology than the US government.
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost state in Germany. It sits on the border of Denmark. History buffs will remember Schleswig-Holstein as the state the Prussians conquered in the first German War of Unification.
The Schleswig-Holstein switch to Linux and LibreOffice is part of a larger movement. Privacy advocates and open-sourced software enthusiasts are pushing the changeover to protect privacy.
Will Europe Reject Windows?
It is also a European movement, because Linux originated in Finland. In contrast, they base Microsoft (MSFT) in Redmond, Washington.
That movement has a long way to go. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) claims that 1.3 billion devices worldwide run Windows 10, for example. Moreover, Statcounter gave Windows a 75.18% market share in October 2021. In contrast, Statcoutner gave Linux a 2.15% market share in October 2021.
Conversely, Statista estimates Windows had a 72.98% market share in June 2021. Yet, Linux had a 2.6% market share in June 2021.
So yes, Windows owns the desktop market. I think it could take decades for Linux to conquer the desktop market unless governments and big corporations dump Windows and force others to do so.
Hence, the shift to Linux in Schleswig-Holstein could be the beginning of a revolution against Microsoft and American Big Tech. Only future history will tell us if that revolution can succeed.
Originally published at https://marketmadhouse.com on December 2, 2021.
