In Soviet Russia, business runs YOU!

Boy, another shiny little gem from our favorite business adviser/friendly neighborhood cat lady Katherine Noyes! Really, what’s the harm there to take some two bob’s worth from a tech-bloid editor for your organizational needs if not just for a few chuckles?

“Following in the footsteps of numerous other governments around the world, Moscow has reportedly set aside 150 million rubles to develop a national software system that’s based instead on Linux. Its goals? To reduce Russia’s dependence on Microsoft and to increase security, according to reports.”

Let’s assume the good folk at Moscow are not actually planning to build a few extra mansions in a tropical island. Let’s also assume that this whole “national” Linux thing has actually a thing or two to do with the Glorious Motherland’s security. “So, how much are ’150 million rubles’ worth?” You might ask. Well, according to the market exchange rate as per the writing of this FUD tracker piece, 1 ruble can get you roughly around 0.023 euro. Hence, with 150 million rubles, you can fund approximately one-tenth of the Munich Linux migration project, or a national Linux OS project for Russia. Doesn’t that make total sense to you?

“Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard reports of Russia’s tech-independence plans. Back in 2007, meanwhile, Moscow decreed that all schools in the state must switch to Linux-based software by next year, according to the Moscow Times.”

To quote Vladimir Sorokin, the teacher who supposedly got fired for advocating open-source, “most Moscow schools were using pirated software until the state program was announced three years ago. As a stopgap measure, Moscow authorities purchased licenses for Windows and other programs being run on the city’s school computers for three years, he says.”

Great, an entire school system running on pirated Windows. Who would have thought the Vikings were actually Russians?

“As the Russians have found, vendor lock-in is not a fun situation for an organization of any size.”

Given the presence of WGA, I think the situation in Moscow was more along the line of “lock-out”.

“Frantically recurring hardware upgrades to keep pace with software requirements become a thing of the past when you switch to Linux.”

Yep, why upgrade your hardware when you can keep it until it is worth being put on Antique Roadshow? Sure your productivity is going to be through the roof with crummy six-year-old workstations and servers from the dumpsters.

“The occasional vulnerability is bound to crop up in any operating system, but nothing matches the rate at which bugs target Windows, as Russia has evidently noticed. That’s due in large part to the way privileges are assigned, and to the fact that Windows is now such a monoculture, creating a compellingly huge target for malware and an easy way to make it spread.”

Seriously, this is nothing but regurgitation of the same old crap from “Crazy Cat Lady Speaks Again”, and I am not going to spend any more word debunking it all over again.

“Stability and reliability are both hallmarks of Linux, both on the server and on the desktop. Whereas unplanned downtime is a fact of life with Windows — and a frequent one, at that — your business could be virtually downtime-free if you made the switch to Linux.”

Again: [citation needed]

“Not much to say on this one. Free vs. expensive per-seat licensing? No need to keep upgrading your hardware? Better reliability and less downtime? All told, the savings can amount to some $400 to $500 per desktop.”

Yeah, march on, my below-minimum-wage Linux Admin Red Army!