LiMux explained

LiMux
Developer:LiMux Project
Family:Linux
Source Model:Combination of open source and closed source
Package Manager:dpkg
Working State:Current
Latest Release Version:6.0
Latest Release Date:2019
Language:German
Kernel Type:Monolithic (Linux)
Ui:KDE Plasma 5
License:Various free software licenses, plus proprietary

LiMux was a project launched by the city of Munich in 2004 in order to replace the software on its desktop computers, migrating from Microsoft Windows to free software based on Linux. By 2012, the city had migrated 12,600 of its 15,500 desktops to LiMux. In November 2017 Munich City Council resolved to reverse the migration and return to Microsoft Windows-based software by 2020.[1] [2] [3] In May 2020, it was reported that the newly elected politicians in Munich, while not going back to the original plan of migrating to LiMux wholesale, will prefer Free Software for future endeavours.[4]

The project initially used OpenOffice.org, but announced on 15 October 2012 that it would switch to LibreOffice.[5] The city reported that due to the project, it had gained freedom in software decisions, increased security and saved €11.7 million (US$16 million).[6]

LiMux was the first Linux desktop distribution certified for industry use (ISO 9241) by the Technical Inspection Association (German: Technischer Überwachungsverein).[7] It was first based on Debian, but later changed to the most popular Debian derivative, Ubuntu. LiMux Client version 5.0 was released in November 2014, based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with KDE SC 4.12 as the desktop. The default office suite was LibreOffice 4.1. Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird were included in their Extended Support Release version.[8]

History

In 2003 the impending end of Microsoft's support for Windows NT 4.0 led Munich City Council to commission a report on choices for a successor for use on its office computers. The report yielded two main alternatives, either migration to Windows XP or a move to a free and open source operating system based on Linux with an accompanying emphasis on web browsers as OS-neutral application clients.

A majority of Council members voted for the Linux-based solution, which was dubbed LiMux, referencing the M on Munich vehicle registrations and MUC, the code of International Air Transport Association (IATA) for Munich airport.

On 16 May 2007, the TÜV confirmed by a comprehensive certification process, the usability of the LiMux-based client as a user interface for interactive computer systems according to the ISO standard 9241-110.

The migration was interrupted in the summer of 2004, because the city wanted to investigate the legal implications of software patents. In late 2006, the actual migration began.

A tool called Wollmux was developed to extend OpenOffice capabilities in areas required by Munich Council, including managing consistent letterheads, form templates, saved blocks of standard text, document versioning and merging. Wollmux was released in May 2008.

In May 2009, 1800 workstations were converted to Linux, and 12,000 received OpenOffice. By October 2013, the city of Munich had migrated over 15,000 desktop PCs (of about 18,000 desktops) to Linux and OpenOffice.org. The usability project group interviewed users regularly to achieve a good fit to the needs.

In 2014, Munich deputy mayor, Josef Schmid, and mayor, Dieter Reiter, considered going back to Windows due to alleged productivity problems. However, Stefan Hauf, the spokesman of the Munich city council stated that the majority of issues stem from compatibility issues in OpenOffice, something which could be solved by switching to LibreOffice.[9] Moreover, the head of municipal IT services, Karl-Heinz Schneider, stated that most things were fine, and they had managed saved some 10 million euros (more than 13 million dollars). He emphasized that the number of complaints and malfunctions hadn't exceeded the usual level for an organization of this size. Microsoft had announced in 2013 its willingness to move its German headquarters to Munich in 2016, which according to Reiter though, is unrelated to the criticism they've presented against the LiMux project.[10]

In November 2017 Munich city council decided to revert to Windows by 2020 with all systems being replaced by Windows 10 counterparts. Some of the reasons cited were adoption and users being unhappy with the lack of software available for Linux. A report commissioned by Munich and undertaken by Accenture, found the most important issues were organizational.

In 2018, journalistic group Investigate Europe released a video documentary via German public television network ARD that claimed that the majority of city workers were satisfied with the operating system, with council members insinuating that the reversal was a personally motivated decision by lord mayor Dieter Reiter. Reiter denied that he had initiated the reversal in gratitude for Microsoft moving its German headquarters from Unterschleißheim back to Munich.[11] [12]

In May 2020, the recently elected coalition administration, formed by Green party and the Social Democrats, decided that "Where it is technologically and financially possible", the city will emphasize use on open standards and free open-source licensed software.[13]

Objectives

The main goal was to achieve more independence from software distributors. The decision in 2003 had two components: to get free software running on most desktops, and to buy and develop web-based and platform independent (e.g. Java-based) business applications. A core goal was to reduce reliance of Microsoft-based software stacks and fund local developers to write replacement software.[14]

Timeline

LiMux client software

LiMux Client 4.0 was released in August 2011, based on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS with KDE desktop 3.5. It included OpenOffice.org 3.2.1, Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Firefox and other free software products.[42]

LiMux Client version 5.0 was released in November 2014, based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with KDE SC 4.12 as the desktop. The default office suite was LibreOffice 4.1. Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird were included in their Extended Support Release versions.

LiMux Client Version 5.5 based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS with KDE 4.14.3a, LibreOffice 4.15.23.0, and Firefox 24.8.1 (optional 45.5.1)

LiMux Client version 6.0 is based on Kubuntu 18, KDE 5.44, GIMP 2.10, LibreOffice 5.2.8, WollMux 18, Google Chrome 80 and Firefox 60 ESR and 68; Okular is used as a PDF viewer instead of Adobe Reader, which was discontinued for Linux.[43] Like the previous versions, it was not multi-session capable. First rollout was done in April 2019 and is estimated to be fully rolled out in 2020.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Switching to Linux saves Munich over €11 million. IT World. 2012-11-26. 2014-05-09. From 11,000 desktops at the time the cost study was prepared, the number of desktops running LiMux has now reached 12,600 and by the end of the year the city plans to have migrated 13,000 of the total of 15,500 desktops..
  2. Web site: Krempl. Stefan. Endgültiges Aus für LiMux: Münchener Stadtrat setzt den Pinguin vor die Tür. Heise Online. Heise Medien. 13 March 2018. DE. 23 November 2017.
  3. Web site: Heath. Nick. Linux pioneer Munich supports Windows 10 rollout from 2020 in key vote. TechRepublic. CBS Interactive. 13 March 2018. 8 November 2017.
  4. News: Schaer . Cathrin . 2020-05-14 . Linux not Windows: Why Munich is shifting back from Microsoft to open source – again . . 2020-05-24 .
  5. Web site: Libre Office für München. Münchner IT-Blog. 2012-10-15. 2014-05-09. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131214123013/http://www.it-muenchen-blog.de/2012/10/libre-office-fur-munchen/. 14 December 2013. dmy-all.
  6. Web site: Linux: City of Munich ditches Microsoft moves to Linux and open source. GiraffeDog IT support services. 2013-12-23. 2014-05-09. 3 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200803053246/http://www.giraffedog.com/blog/ubuntu-linux-hints-tips/city-munich-successfully-ditches-microsoft-favour-linux-open-source/. dead.
  7. Web site: TÜV zertifiziert Münchens LiMUX-Client . linux-magazin.de . de . 2007-05-16 . 2010-11-16 .
  8. Web site: Linux in the City of Munich (AKA LiMux) -- DebConf15 talk by Jan-Marek Glogowski. 2015-08-15. 2020-08-29.
  9. Web site: Munich Council: LiMux Demise Has Been Greatly Exaggerated. Joey-Elijah Sneddon. 2014-08-22. Hauf also confirms that council staff have, and do, complain about LiMux, but that the majority of issues stem from compatibility issues in OpenOffice, something a potential switch to LibreOffice could solve..
  10. Web site: Linux-on-the-desktop pioneer Munich now considering a switch back to Windows. Peter Bright. 2014-08-18.
  11. Web site: Das Microsoft-Dilemma . ARD Mediathek . https://web.archive.org/web/20180410183411/https://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/Dokumentation-und-Reportage/Das-Microsoft-Dilemma/rbb-Fernsehen/Video?bcastId=3822114&documentId=51465916 . 10 April 2018 . de . 8 April 2018 .
  12. UPD Munich, LiMux and the (planned) return to Microsoft . 2017-05-03 . Investigate Europe . 2024-06-12 . YouTube.
  13. Web site: Linux not Windows: Why Munich is shifting back from Microsoft to open source – again. ZDNet.
  14. Web site: How Munich switched 15,000 PCS from Windows to Linux | Linux Voice . 11 May 2014 . 20 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120034728/https://www.linuxvoice.com/the-big-switch/ . dead .
  15. Web site: Limux – the IT-Evolution. IDABC. https://web.archive.org/web/20071216172024/http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/3223/470. 16 December 2007 .
  16. Web site: Encz. Philipp. Bass. Dina. Microsoft Loses Munich Contract for 14,000 PCs to Linux Program. Bloomberg. https://web.archive.org/web/20140903160359/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYjHOozAjHAE&refer=europe. 3 September 2014 .
  17. Web site: Munich halts biggest-ever Linux migration. News.com. 2008-01-16. 18 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191018040952/https://www.cnet.com/news/. dead.
  18. Web site: Patent fears halt Munich Linux migration. The Register. 2008-01-16.
  19. Web site: Debian wins Munich Linux deal. News.com. 2008-01-16. 18 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191018040951/https://www.cnet.com/news/. dead.
  20. Web site: Munich's Linux migration slips to 2006. News.com. 2008-01-16. 18 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191018040954/https://www.cnet.com/news/. dead.
  21. Web site: Munich fires up Linux at last. News.com. 2008-01-16. 18 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191018040955/https://www.cnet.com/news/. dead.
  22. Web site: Zwei Jahre freie Software in München. Florian Schießl. 2008-04-22.
  23. Web site: Munich's WollMux will be free software. 2008-05-29.
  24. Web site: LiMux review 2009. Florian Schießl . 2009-12-30. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100110023254/http://www.floschi.info/2009/12/limux-review-2009/. 10 January 2010. dmy-all.
  25. Web site: Projekt LiMux: Die IT-Evolution geht weiter. 2010-06-30.
  26. Web site: München hat den 9.000. PC-Arbeitsplatz auf den LiMux Client migriert. Kirsten Böge. 2011-12-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120113205716/http://www.it-muenchen-blog.de/2011/12/munchen-hat-den-9-000-pc-arbeitsplatz-auf-den-limux-client-migriert/. 13 January 2012. dmy-all.
  27. News: Munich Linux Migration Project LiMux Reports Success. 2012-01-08. Reed. Michael. 2012-01-02. Linux Journal.
  28. Web site: München spart mit Limux Geld und hat weniger Störungen. Jörg Thoma. 2012-03-28.
  29. Web site: Munich mayor says switch to Linux is much cheaper and has reduced complaints. Loek Essers. 2012-04-02. The maximum number of complaints was 70 per month before the beginning of the switch to LiMux. After the number of LiMux workplaces increased from 1,500 to 9,500, the maximum number of complaints per month dropped to 46. This leaves Ude to conclude that the decline in complaints was due to the migration to LiMux..
  30. Web site: LiMux - the IT-Evolution, Status of Migration. https://web.archive.org/web/20140903082028/http://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/dms/Home/Stadtverwaltung/Direktorium/Strategische-IT-Projekte/LiMux/Dokumente/2012_Juli_London20120709.pdf. dead. 2014-09-03. Jutta Kreyss. 2012-06-10.
  31. Web site: Linux brings over €10 million savings for Munich. https://web.archive.org/web/20131207064653/http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Linux-brings-over-EUR10-million-savings-for-Munich-1755802.html. 2013-12-07. Anika Kehrer. 2012-11-23.
  32. Web site: Rathaus Umschau - HP-Studie untersucht im Auftrag von Microsoft LiMux-Umstellung. 2013-01-22.
  33. Web site: Munich open-source switch 'completed successfully'. Loek Essers. 2013-12-13. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141013085745/http://www.cio.co.uk/news/change-management/munich-open-source-completed-successfully/. 13 October 2014. dmy-all.
  34. Web site: Munich sheds light on the cost of dropping Linux and returning to Windows. Nick Heath. ZDNet. 2014-10-15. The mayor of Munich has revealed the cost of reversing its move to Linux from Windows will run into millions of euros in hardware alone..
  35. Web site: Debian Success Stories.
  36. Web site: LibreOffice conference 2015, schedule, Sept. 24th. Thursday.
  37. News: Microsoft Germany moves into a new headquarters. 2016-09-20. en.
  38. News: Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows. Heath. Nick. February 10, 2017. Tech Republic. February 12, 2017. Tech Republic.
  39. News: Ditching Windows for Linux led to 'major difficulties' says open-source champion Munich. TechRepublic. 2017-10-10. en.
  40. Web site: Linux pioneer confirms switch to Windows 10. 23 November 2017.
  41. News: Schaer . Cathrin . 2020-05-14 . Linux not Windows: Why Munich is shifting back from Microsoft to open source – again . . 2020-05-24 .
  42. Web site: Version 4.0 des LiMux-Clients ist fertig. DE. 18 August 2011.
  43. Web site: Wallen . Jack . 2014-10-20 . 3 Alternatives to the Adobe PDF Reader on Linux . 2024-02-27 . Linux.com . en-US.

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