05.19.19

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South Korea’s Government Will Show If Microsoft Loves Linux or Just Attacks It Very Viciously Like It Did in Munich

Posted in Asia, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 8:59 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

“Linux infestations are being uncovered in many of our large accounts as part of the escalation engagements.”

Summary: Microsoft’s hatred of all things GNU/Linux is always put to the test when someone ‘dares’ use it outside Microsoft’s control and cash cows (e.g. Azure and Vista 10/WSL); will Microsoft combat its longstanding urge to corrupt or oust officials with the courage to say “no” to Microsoft?

THIS MONTH’S news from Kerala (India) was very encouraging. Microsoft has long attempted to impose Windows on all children; Bill Gates himself lobbied endlessly to also take schools under his control (Charter Schools), fearing that future generations would not be enlisted into his cult. But that’s a subject for another day (recall EDGI and how it was used in India).

The latest news, which first emerged on Friday, comes from South Korea. It’s about a government and a rich nation long known to be imprisoned by Windows because of ActiveX. The original report [1], followed by more coverage citing it [2-6], sounded good. And then came Microsoft boosters, who even earlier today caught up with the news and did some damage-limiting doubt-shedding [7-8].

“Bill Gates has bribed so many publishers (where Microsoft is also a leading advertiser, i.e. client of the publisher), so they love deflecting all public uproar to companies like Google.”Will the migration happen? We sure hope so. But we’re also certain that Microsoft works hard to undermine this already (e.g. with typical tactics, such as ousting people). We already saw that in Munich, even after the migration. Microsoft would do anything to ‘demonstrate’ that GNU/Linux is a ‘failure’ on the desktop. It used the services of Gartner Group, HP and Accenture among others. A little marketing disguised as ‘studies’ can help morph perception and make success stories seem like failures. Not a word is being said by the rather useless Linux Foundation, which acts as though it signed a non-disparagement deal with Microsoft. Its own chief doesn’t even use GNU/Linux himself.

We shall be watching closely what happens next in South Korea. We expect mischief to follow. We covered many such examples in the past, including Microsoft bribery whose sole purpose was to undermine GNU/Linux.

According to the main article, “the ministry said it would test if the system could be run on private networked devices without security risks and if compatibility could be achieved with existing websites and software which have been built to run on Windows.”

Korea Herald makes “no mention of freedom, and does include some security FUD,” said one of our readers about the seminal report in English. And “therefore: probably just trying to talk Microsoft down on the price…”

Microsoft boosters have begun smearing or belittling this plan, so we shall be watching them too. Longtime Microsoft propagandists such as Bogdan Popa still try to maintain the lie/perception of “Microsoft loves Linux” while at the time time viciously attacking GNU/Linux (which Microsoft bribes governments to reject or — failing that — dump). Microsoft is still a highly abusive and corrupt monopoly. It just got too many officials in its pockets, so rarely if ever does it get punished. Bill Gates has bribed so many publishers (where Microsoft is also a leading advertiser, i.e. client of the publisher), so they love deflecting all public uproar to companies like Google. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

S. Korean government to switch to Linux: ministry

The government will switch the operating system of its computers from Windows to Linux, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Thursday.

The Interior Ministry said the ministry will be test-running Linux on its PCs, and if no security issues arise, Linux systems will be introduced more widely within the government.
South Korea will ditch Microsoft Windows for Linux

Windows 7 support will end in January of next year, and that is a huge problem for both business and home users that are still running the aging operating system. Can’t these people just upgrade to Windows 10? Well, yeah, but many just don’t want to. Windows 10 has extreme telemetry that many people consider to be spying. As a result, they simply don’t trust Microsoft’s latest operating system. Not to mention, for businesses and organizations with many computers, the upgrade to Windows 10 could prove to be a costly affair.

And now, as a result of the upcoming death of Windows 7 support, the South Korean government has reportedly decided to ditch Microsoft Windows entirely. According to The Korea Herald, the Asian country’s government will switch from Windows 7 to a Linux-based operating system.
South Korean government planning Linux migration as Windows 7 support ends

With just seven more months of support left for Windows 7, the South Korean government is planning to migrate to Linux, according to the Korea Herald, which notes that the Interior Ministry will begin “test-running Linux on its PCs, and if no security issues arise, Linux systems will be introduced more widely within the government.”

The Herald quotes the Interior Ministry as indicating that the transition to Linux, and the purchase of new PCs, would cost about 780 billion won ($655 million), but also anticipates long-term cost reductions with the adoption of Linux. The report doesn’t mention a specific distro, instead “hopes to avoid building reliance on a single operating system.”

“Before the government-wide adoption, the ministry said it would test if the system could be run on private networked devices without security risks and if compatibility could be achieved with existing websites and software which have been built to run on Windows,” the report stated.
South Korean Government Planning Linux Migration as Windows 7 Support Ends

With just seven more months of support left for Windows 7, the South Korean government is planning to migrate to Linux, according to the Korea Herald, which notes that the Interior Ministry will begin “test-running Linux on its PCs, and if no security issues arise, Linux systems will be introduced more widely within the government.
South Korea Plans To Shift To Linux From Windows

Until now, Windows 7 was being used on government machines but the government wants to be future-proofed. That’s because Microsoft will pull the plug on the free technical support for the popular OS in January 2020.

For reference, Windows 7 was released back in 2009 and its mainstream support ended in 2015.

According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the switch won’t be made right away. First, the Linux-based OS will be tested for thorough compatibility with the existing software that’s meant for Windows. After successful testing, it will be implemented across the entire system.
South Korea Thinks Of Switching From Windows To Linux Platform

The government has opted for Linux instead of Windows 10 to save a significant amount of money Windows is a paid OS whereas Linux is a free, open-source operating system. It would cost around 780 billion won or 655 million dollars for switching to Linus platform and buying new PCs.

Another reason for this change is that the Linux platform has lesser security risks compared to Windows. This is the main factor that most of the enterprise networks around the world uses Linux based OS to run their machines.
South Korea Government prefer Linux to Windows 10

A report from the Korean Herald stated, “Before the government-wide adoption, the ministry said it would test if the system could be run on private networked devices without security risks and if compatibility could be achieved with existing websites and software which have been built to run on Windows.”

It is not exactly clear which Linux distribution the South Korean Government are eyeing.
Government Planning to Replace Windows 7 with Linux, Not Windows 10

While specifics on what Linux distro they want to embrace are not available, it looks like the first step towards this migration to the open-source world is a security audit that should help the government determine if their data is protected or not.