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A German state is ditching Windows and Microsoft Office for Linux and LibreOffice on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions (www.theregister.com)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's most northern state, is starting its switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, and is planning to move from Windows to Linux on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions.

Concerns over data security are also front and center in the Minister-President's statement, especially data that may make its way to other countries. Back in 2021, when the transition plans were first being drawn up, the hardware requirements for Windows 11 were also mentioned as a reason to move away from Microsoft.

Saunders noted that "the reasons for switching to Linux and LibreOffice are different today. Back when LiMux started, it was mostly seen as a way to save money. Now the focus is far more on data protection, privacy and security. Consider that the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) recently found that the European Commission's use of Microsoft 365 breaches data protection law for EU institutions and bodies."

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[-] fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de 28 points 7 months ago

This is disingenuous and misleading.

Yes compatibility with Word with complex formatting is problematic, but is that really libreoffice or is it Ms office?

For documents drafted in LibreOffice complex formatting is rock solid. It's patently false to say its just generally inferior to Word in this regard.

[-] menemen@lemmy.world 18 points 7 months ago

Yeah it is always funny when people shit on non-MS office suites for not being 100% comaltible with MS Office, when it is Microsoft who doesn't stick to the international standards.

[-] dumpsterlid@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

How can they be international standards if they don’t include Microsoft? Doesn’t Microsoft and all its employees count as part of this global international world? See, Microsoft is the victim here.

edit /s /s /s /s /s /s

[-] menemen@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

You might want to look into what standardization means.

Start here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization

And here more on our specific case: https://www.iso.org/standard/66363.html

Imo companies who hinder or harm standardization (Microsoft and Apple are the leaders here) are literally among the worst things on this earth.

this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2024

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