Munich Is Ditching Linux And Adopting Windows For “No Technical Reason”

Short Bytes: Back in February, Munich general council backed a proposal to look into the cost and possibility of building a Windows 10 client. Munich’s IT services provider chief has said that the political decision to ditch Linux and adopt Windows operating system isn’t backed by some compelling technical reason. He added that all the problems reported by the officials have been solved. 

Last month, the corridors of open source world were filled with whispers of Munich ditching Linux and making a switch to the closed world of Windows. The reports weren’t a product of someone’s imagination as the city voted to investigate the viability of adoption of Windows.

This move was surprising as Munich acted as a poster-child for open source adoption for a decade. But, it looks like Munich’s ruling SPD-CSU coalition isn’t a fan of open source philosophy. The general council backed a proposal that the city should look for how long it’ll take to create a Windows 10 client, and what would be the cost.

Also Read: Kerala Saves $58 Million Each Year By Using Free And Open Source Software

These big developments are bound to inspire questions regarding the technical challenges faced by Munich authorities. However, chief of IT at the city of Munich’s IT services provider IT@M, Karl-Heinz Schneider, has a different story to tell. It should be noted that IT@M developed LiMux, a customized version of Ubuntu.

Talking to Heise.de, Schneider said that he was surprised by the decision as all the compatibility problems faced by the city were fixed.

“We do not see any compelling technical reasons for a change to Windows and Microsoft Office,” he said. Schneider also added that the system failures in the past had nothing to do with Linux implementation.

According to him, Munich’s decision to ditch Linux and LibreOffice is inspired by politics.

Whatever might be the real reason, as The Document Foundation rightly points out, Munich’s decision to return to Windows is a “significant step backwards.”

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