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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Friday, July 16, 2004

Linux in Government: GNU/Linux Clears Procurement Hurdles

Linux Journal: "In the first quarter of 2004, sales of GNU/Linux servers increased 56.9% over the same period in 2003. That performance follows six consecutive quarters of double-digit growth for the free operating system, according to a report by IDC. Although Linux currently has the best growth rate of any operating system globally and has cleared major procurement hurdles for government entities, Linux gains remain limited compared to those of other government vendors ... Linux usage in government and education in the United States remains small at best. Microsoft still owns an astounding 95% of the market. In spite of logic and reason, government decision makers cannot pull themselves away from Microsoft, even in the face of US government warnings."

Thanks Sam. This is an interesting article, and while I agree with most of this, the author's weird focus on Windows rebooting all the time (the "Windows two-step," he calls it) is a bit disingenuous. My many XP desktops rarely reboot, unless of course they've automatically downloaded and installed a critical security patch that requires them to do so. The real problem with Windows is security, not reliability. And the author seems to realize this; why he focuses on the non-issue of rebooting is beyond me. By focusing on a cute phrase he hopes to see adopted as a common reference, he's engaging in the same narrow-minded generalizations that he accuses the mainstream media of. (One might ask, What's the "Linux two-step"? When you have try and make some feature work properly using a Byzantine command line sequence?) In any event, it's pretty clear to me that governments, like businesses, should be evaluating Linux more often to see if this is a solution that makes sense for them. More and more, I suspect, it will be.

[ Posted at 2:06 PM | Permalink ]