Full article: AFP: French police deal blow to Microsoft

Next time I get stop by the Gendarmerie to blow in the baloon, I will look at them with a different eye

Their servers are already running under Debian, their Windows are allready running OpenOffice, Firefox... so the next logical move was Ubuntu

Gendarmerie is avant-gardiste, precursor... I will have never thought about this!

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Meh. Not a big deal. We'll see what happens to the lusrs when they break it.

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"Take me back to the way life's never been."

It is a big deal. It is one the biggest migration from Windows to Linux.

It is the trend now.

What does lusrs mean?

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l = local

usr = user

lusr = loser (a user within the system who doesn't have a clue)

I did some time with UNIX sysadmins. /usr/local/bin is a particularly favorite directory for many files within the *NIX system.

It's a nice publicity stunt for the Gendarmerie, but I suspect that most of them (like most of us) would be stumped by trying to fix Linux problems via the command line. It's not like switching to Firefox.

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"Take me back to the way life's never been."

Oh, never heard of this expression before.

Well, they are some testominy that some of them act like windows guru and mess up with Windows which makes it even worse and add the fact that they're computer are kind of old...

I'll guess they won't have the root rights on their computer anyway which makes the system safe.

Publicity for the Gendarmerie, I don't know, they don't need it anyway... but huge publicity for Linux in France, definitely!

I was wondering if it was possible in the US to see such a migration like that to the national level.

What is the context of your signature? any link?

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I don't see any kind of shift to Linux happening on any grand scale here. Most users just aren't capable of, or interested in, dealing with the intricacies of *NIX configuration.

My sig? Inside joke.

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"Take me back to the way life's never been."

When you talk like that, it seems that Linux is complicated, but now it got so easier that Ubuntu is I think much easier than Windows. They have simplify everything. (as long as Ubuntu recognize all the devices of course)

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Microsoft is a bad company.

lol, thanks for your contribution

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Ubuntu is not easier than Windows, in fact its the one Linux distro that doesn't like my soundcard as far as I can tell, I have to agree with Pram here, your basic computer user isn't going to want to bother with command line and no matter how much you make it feel like Windows or at least familiar enough that they don't run away screaming, command line will be waiting for you when something doesn't go right. Linux will only continue to be for those brave enough to explore new ground, and those who want the freedom of total control (That doesn't mean I don't like Linux, I think its a great low-cost alternative, of course this assumes that people are financially responsible in the first place). Me, I rather use a computer for what I'm going to use it for than waste all that time bending it to my will just to stick it to Microsoft. Anyway, I honestly believe that the only thing stopping Microsoft from loosing to anyone in the OS field is the reality that there is simply no viable choice for a replacement out there.

Linux? Too complicated for your average user, fun to play around with, but honestly I want to pay the latest games and want my hardware to be recognized. Tell me honestly that Linux can meet all those needs, and I'll switch in a heartbeat.

Mac? Bah, too much baggage, specifically the hardware you have to buy to get the OS. I think its absolutely funny that Mac lovers say their OS is better, as if it was a level playing field. When you can run both OS's on any computer you damn want within required specs, and without hacking then you'll have a level playing field and you can honestly compare OS's because then people will have a reasonable choice. You can't honestly tell me for example that Mac's use superior hardware, in fact they pretty much use the same damn hardware as most all computers these days.

Intel cpu's, your standard HD, etc. Granted they make better pre-built computers, but pre-built computers are for the tech challenged who like to pay an arm and a leg for servicing. I mean I see no reason Apple can't keep the pre-built computer side of business and open up their OS to any hardware that meets the specs. Of course, that is if they're not afraid to tango with Microsoft on their home turf that is. Lets face it after all, Apple is a successful company but I don't know that they would be willing to mess with Microsoft's bread and butter.

Anyway, my point is this, Windows is here to stay for better or worse. Or at least until someone comes along with a reasonable and superior OS (even with the hiccups they've had with Vista), and even then it wont be a sure bet. Simply because Microsoft is so big, and you can betcha that they'll do everything in their power to keep their spot in the OS business.

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I don't pretend to know everything, educate me, and I'll try to educate you. Shouting matches and insults aren't going to convince me.

Well... I guess the typical user just clicks the 2 or 3 application he uses on the desktop and is happy...
The amount of money safed from not having to pay the license should allow a service crew to take care of all the problems...
And if it turns out to be a great disapointment... they will swap back with making less of a news out of it...

I have no experience with Linux though... but eventhough User errors are unpredictable and happen no matter how little the person has to actually do with the PC, perhaps the cost benefit is big enough....
As long as you use the Computer only as a advanced typewriter...

Well... For many others, Microsoft will remain the only real deal, due to all the professional software products which are best available for MS OS`s....
Hail the Monopoly!

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Hey it isn't that bad, Windows works for the most part, and like I said there is nothing really stopping anyone from making a better OS. In fact, this is probably the best chance they'll get what with Vista having its troubles. Of course, who wants to go against the biggest technology company on the plant? Apple? They're small potatoes compared to Microsoft and have been successfully by mainly staying out of Microsoft's way.

I mean after all, its open-source software that competes with Microsoft where its been most successful. Firefox, Open Office, Linux. Though in Linux's case, they're not going to make an impact until they somehow get around the whole hardware support issue and software support issue. Which is getting better, but its not perfect yet mostly because the companies that make the hardware/software are really the ones who somehow have to consider whether its cost effective to write software for Linux (I mean AMD/ATI makes a Linux driver for my video card, but Sound Blaster doesn't make a Linux driver for my soundcard). After all, to be perfectly frank, there isn't any money in it for game developers/software developers to create software that will run on Linux. Or at least not enough to make it worth it.

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I don't pretend to know everything, educate me, and I'll try to educate you. Shouting matches and insults aren't going to convince me.

I could see this working out fine.
They are probably buying all their hardware through central purchasing, so recognizing the equipment just isn't an issue.
They aren't running games, most of these computers will probably have pretty standard software installed, so they can pop'em out like crazy from IT. So you get some Linux gurus to create an easy installation CD for the standard configuration, browser, Word processing, spreadsheet, email. The key is the browser, once you have that working, you can do everything thru the browser if you want to.
They are saving a boatload of money doing this too.

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"[i] was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on."
-- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, March 13, 2007

" I remember discussing with him this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign."
-- Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Gonzales, testifying under oath, March 29, 2007

Absolutely, Linux is the way to go if you want to save money. Its just not going to dominate the OS market where it counts. Sure it has the potential to make a dent, but I'm sure your all tired of me by now for continuing with all the doom and gloom. That we should just deal with it and serve our Microsoft overlords. So I'll shut-up, instead of going over the same point over and over and over and over again.

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I don't pretend to know everything, educate me, and I'll try to educate you. Shouting matches and insults aren't going to convince me.

I don't think the monolithic OS market has that long of a shelf life. Who needs an OS for gaming with the console systems coming out? You just need a dumb box with a video card, fast processor and lots of memory. Why buy a $4000 computer that you'll probably want to soup up anyway, with an OS that eats half of the resources when you can get a console for $300? While Microsoft currently dominates the PC market, if all one really wants is gaming and a few simple things like word processing and internet browsing, the OS is complete overkill. I'd look for more OS independent services ala carte through the browser in the future.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson