public services of an entire german state switches from Microsoft to open source (Libreoffice, Linux, Nextcloud, Thunderbird)
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I think they have already switched and went back at some point?
Nope. Some other state that tried.
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they will save 188,000 € on Microsoft license fees per year
I switched to Thunderbird about a year and a half ago.
Last week I had to help a coworker with their Outlook and holy shit is it so much worse than when I dropped it. There is so much AI garbage in every little thing and bad design getting in the way of just sending and receiving emails.
Same thing for the other office products
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they will save 188,000 € on Microsoft license fees per year
Let's hope it sticks when Microsoft backs up the money truck.
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Here, you dropped an /s
No. For $16 a month you get Windows + O365 + InTune + EntreID. That includes role based access to admin portals, as well as for SharePoint+ one drive. You get per object audit and logging access to protect IP, you can remotely disable and wipe stolen devices if needed.
None of that can be replicated in one product, the reality it's 10 or so subsystems that need to be maintained. It's labor intensive. Does it make sense for some companies or governments with scale to switch away? ABSOLUTELY!
Is this thread filled with a bunch of people that vastly underrate capabilities and ease of use because of a hatred of Microsoft and what they represent and an unwillingness to look at how the users and businesses actually feel and make decisions? ABSOLUTELY!
I think management and MSP experience in this thread is nil and I think probably nobody in here has ever actually worked at a directors level.
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I hate microsoft as much as the next guy but their office suite is best in class. Its far better funded which makes it so surprising that the other suites arent to far behind. I think with proper funding other suites can get to a point where it makes sense to switch to them.
Is it? Almost every time I use it I end up hitting a bug or missing feature. Just last week I was trying to get Word in Office365 to keep some lines together. I followed the instructions from Microsoft's help and it didn't work. Last month I was trying to get "slide M of N" on the bottom of PowerPoint in Office365, but apparently getting the N is just not supported.
LibreOffice almost always works for me, far more often than Microsoft Office.
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I hate microsoft as much as the next guy but their office suite is best in class. Its far better funded which makes it so surprising that the other suites arent to far behind. I think with proper funding other suites can get to a point where it makes sense to switch to them.
Drives me crazy. Rather than talking about how MS got here and how to fix it you get this screeching.
Same reason Linux desktop will never be mainstream unless valve keeps pumping billions into the shit regular the users need and want.
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It's gonna be a rough few months for the IT department
Actually being able to troubleshoot things yourself instead of waiting for a reply from Microsoft support is a godsend.
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I can't see a reason why Linux distro wouldn't be enough for 99% of office machines. Unless deployment is really that much better and easier with Windows and MS Office. And whatever proprietary apps they use that need running on certain OS.
It's not.
The problem is that one percent that does need Windows.
Unicorns suck in IT. It's a small number of systems that take a disproportionate amount of admin overhead.
So IT leadership has to decide if they support a separate OS for a small percentage of users, or one OS that works for everyone (Windows).
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Those proprietary apps are the really big factor. A lot of stuff is run from a browser these days, but some systems are just too expensive to replace.
Things are slowly starting to get better in a lot of the fields I interface with.
Payroll and accounting software? Many great browser-based offerings. Unfortunately that also means the backend is running in the developer's servers, but these applications were generally proprietary to begin with.
EMR company I've done a lot of work with (used to be an engineer there), has essentially halted progress on their Windows-only native client (and it was DEEPLY entrenched in Windows) and is now browser based, retaining 99% of functionality. This one always connected to a proprietary backend anyway.
Own a VW, Audi, Seat, Škoda, Bentley or Lamborghini (depending on model year for some of those)? The popular 3rd party diagnostic software for those, called VCDS, now has a mobile variant if you buy the wireless dongle instead of the cable - it runs a server in the dongle itself that you connect to via wifi, and it displays the sofware as a website. Of course it's available for non-mobile browsers too.
Common theme among all of these is that none need to do heavy data processing on the client - though nowadays that is also solvable using WASM.
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Y'all are delusional.
Office is fantastic and better than goggle as well any foss alternative.
Is This Anal?
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I switched to Thunderbird about a year and a half ago.
Last week I had to help a coworker with their Outlook and holy shit is it so much worse than when I dropped it. There is so much AI garbage in every little thing and bad design getting in the way of just sending and receiving emails.
Same thing for the other office products
It's horrendous. Can't even explain how bad it is now.
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they will save 188,000 € on Microsoft license fees per year
Just wait for Microsoft to start astroturfing the initiative.
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No. For $16 a month you get Windows + O365 + InTune + EntreID. That includes role based access to admin portals, as well as for SharePoint+ one drive. You get per object audit and logging access to protect IP, you can remotely disable and wipe stolen devices if needed.
None of that can be replicated in one product, the reality it's 10 or so subsystems that need to be maintained. It's labor intensive. Does it make sense for some companies or governments with scale to switch away? ABSOLUTELY!
Is this thread filled with a bunch of people that vastly underrate capabilities and ease of use because of a hatred of Microsoft and what they represent and an unwillingness to look at how the users and businesses actually feel and make decisions? ABSOLUTELY!
I think management and MSP experience in this thread is nil and I think probably nobody in here has ever actually worked at a directors level.
Trust me I have used Windows long enough to know what I am talking about. It has zero features that can't be replaced with an overall net positive.
People who defend modern Microsoft products just suffer from Stockholm or Dunning Kruger syndrome -
Is This Anal?
Close but no cigar!
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That sounds like a ridiculously lowballed amount. Also, working with open source tools should increase productivity and decrease brainrot among workers in the public sector. Using Microshit kills brain cells. Not even joking, I actually think it makes users fucking dumb.
There are some striking studies about how use of LLMs impacts cognition. You're not wrong.
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they will save 188,000 € on Microsoft license fees per year
Lie to me once Microsoft shame on you, lie to me twice shame on me.
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Trust me I have used Windows long enough to know what I am talking about. It has zero features that can't be replaced with an overall net positive.
People who defend modern Microsoft products just suffer from Stockholm or Dunning Kruger syndromeAnd I'm sure it'll work be run 24/7 with no downtime and a support desk along with a fleet of junior devs and admins working for the low low price of 35k s year right?
I'm sure it'll support everything we need for CMMC, most, iso, a gdpr right? No need to put key cloak in front of 40 apps to show horn in proper rbac and audit accounts. Again for $16 a month right?
You're a windws user, not even administering accounts or hardware. Your lack of experience is showing and your doubling down on "I've used Windows so I know" reeks of shit you see of non experts talking out of their ass.
Unless you've been in a leadership role and done a yearly budget, you have no clue. Adults with experience are talking here and you're just spiteful lolol
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Is it? Almost every time I use it I end up hitting a bug or missing feature. Just last week I was trying to get Word in Office365 to keep some lines together. I followed the instructions from Microsoft's help and it didn't work. Last month I was trying to get "slide M of N" on the bottom of PowerPoint in Office365, but apparently getting the N is just not supported.
LibreOffice almost always works for me, far more often than Microsoft Office.
Look if you're struggling with ms office in this day and age idk what to tell ya. You might be cooked.
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Actually being able to troubleshoot things yourself instead of waiting for a reply from Microsoft support is a godsend.
Assuming the IT staff isn't comprised of a bunch of junior techs that only know the Microsoft suite and not the actual inner workings of how email and Linux works.
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Drives me crazy. Rather than talking about how MS got here and how to fix it you get this screeching.
Same reason Linux desktop will never be mainstream unless valve keeps pumping billions into the shit regular the users need and want.
Yeah thats what I was trying to add with my reply. Ms is only better because its had 1000x the funding. But even with that funding its not 1000x better its only slightly better. This is a perfect time to fund alternatives and take away Microsofts monopoly.
