
Putin Orders Russian Move to GNU/Linux - bensummers
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2010/12/putin-orders-russian-move-to-gnulinux.html
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lapusta
Putin already has enough money from gas'n'oil, he doesn't give a shit. And
it's not about money, it's about power.

Talking bout piracy - there is majority of illegal software in business,
universities and schools. Not to mention homes. I'm talking about Windows,
Office, Photoshop, Games. Even the biggest Russian social network (vKontakte)
is currently largest unlicensed mp3/video storage.

I always wondered, what they need OpenSource for.. Maybe it's like Medvedev's
obsession with Skolkovo - the new Silicon Valley, which will never ever
happen. While there obviously are bright minds here - they tend to leave the
country.

~~~
narrator
What exactly do you bribe a guy estimated to have 40 billion in liquid assets
with? It's funny because I am sure a corrupt Russian politician must have a
strange existential crisis when they get that much money. It's like that guy
who built the $300 million dollar custom yacht because you literally can't
spend that much money on a house if you tried. There's this website
EnglishRussia.com where they have regular features on $500,000 Bentley's that
have been abandoned in a ditch somewhere. It seems these corrupt politicians
have all this money and don't know what to do with it all and are just buying
expensive cars and crashing them in some sort of nihilistic denial that there
is any other point to life than acquiring loot.

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huhtenberg
> _...that guy who built the $300 million dollar custom yacht because..._

Because it is one of very few ways of moving the money out of the country.
Having 300M in Russia does not exactly compare to having 300M in a Swiss bank,
and Russia has _severe_ capital export restrictions. They were established by
none other than Putin himself, so rest assured they are very well enforced.
One can still hoard a huge pile of money, but it _will_ stay in the country
unless you manage to find a way to spend it abroad _on yourself_. Say, by
building a yacht.

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dchest
Um, I'm pretty sure there are better ways to transfer 300M out of country
without making everyone notice it.

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elvirs
Considering recent developments like stuxnet worm, Chinese cyber attacks, the
fact that cyber crime was one of the main topics discussed during latest NATO
summit I think its more about strategy and security than about money.

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sorenbs
There is no doubt that this is a matter of securing important infrastructure.
Had it been a money question something like the education system or the
administration would be more obvious choices.

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xentronium
There have been numerous attempts to move to open source in Russia. Most of
them failed.

Example: Linux in schools.

1\. Teachers don't know much about linux

2\. Computers aren't fast enough to work with GNOME (which is default in most
packages they install)

3\. Kids don't get it. Open office is the only familiar-looking application
there.

4\. They won't be able to apply their skills anywhere

add: 5. Microsoft makes some _generous_ discounts. Simply because _something_
is worth more than nothing. Piracy is very widespread here (this part is
changing on corporate level, though).

~~~
huertanix
I can see those being setbacks, but on each point:

1\. I'm not sure on the situation in Russia, but in the US, a lot of teachers
don't know much about Windows or OS X either, but unless something breaks they
wouldn't have to.

2\. Gnome's memory footprint is rather large, sadly. Depending on whether the
Russian authorities roll their own custom distro or image though, they could
use XFCE instead.

3\. As things move more towards the cloud, I think that kids would mostly just
have to learn how to use a web browser. Those are mostly the same on all
modern platforms.

4\. Having to learn something new is not a useless skill. Being able to use
more than one platform demonstrates the ability to adapt to change. That's a
useful skill to have.

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xentronium
Yup, every point is solvable. Thinking of how life changed between 2007 and
now, I can imagine how in 2013 we'd have linux in bigger cities, but not
earlier.

1\. I believe you still need someone to maintain the system and someone to
teach how to use it. This makes a requirement of at least one unix specialist
(informatics teacher) per school. Takes a lot of time to train them but not
impossible.

2\. Probably faster hardware and unix specialists could make a distro fast
enough for education (is edubuntu such a distro?)

3\. Most schools have some crappy connection, though (128 kbit/s). Some
schools don't have internet at all; however, those aren't very well equipped
with computers anyway.

4\. You're right. However, some people expect a person out of school to have
some computer literacy and experience with whatever they use at work. And most
of "them" use microsoft solutions for office.

5\. I added a point to the initial comment. It is probably cheaper to have
microsoft products now. Especially, considering support and retraining costs
for open-sourced software.

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bad_user
1\. we had a Linux specialist in a small town high-school in Eastern Europe in
1998, a time when we barely had Internet access

5\. I never saw a comprehensive costs analysis of Windows versus Linux that
wasn't sponsored by Microsoft, which makes me believe this is a myth
perpetuated by people too conservative to change even small habits (if it
wasn't for the social factor, I would home-school my child)

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pornel
I don't think Microsoft will let that happen. In Poland such initiatives ended
with Gates or Ballmer making a visit, shaking hands with few officials and
jointly announcing renewed bond.

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redstripe
A visit from Ballmer is not required. Russia is consistently rated as one of
the most corrupt countries in the world. I think sometimes people who haven't
lived in eastern Europe don't realize how pervasive corruption is. It's not
just a few politicians at the top taking bribes - it's most of the civil
service.

I can't think of any other country in the world (developed enough to have
widespread IT) where it would be easier for MS to buy influence.

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motters
Bill Gates is probably getting onto a plane for Russia about now, to make
Putin an "philanthropic" offer he can't refuse. That's usually how it goes.

~~~
Seth_Kriticos
Not exactly. More like the IIPA filing more complaints against Russia and
keeping them on the Special 301 list:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_301_Report#Complaints_b...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_301_Report#Complaints_by_US_companies)

Bribing in Russia is a home game, so no go there. Putins plane might have a
malfunction though.

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DenisM
Are you seriously suggesting that Microsoft will attempt an assassination of a
country leader? Or did I misread your comment?

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mindcrime
Hey, most people probably believe that NURV was really Microsoft, and that
they really do murder open-source hackers and steal their code; and bribe
government officials... not a big leap to assassination.

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sk5t
Are you sure that's not GRU/Linux?

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DenisM
Parent is making s subtle joke: GRU is the Russian Army intelligence office,
while GNU, is well, you know GNU. So GRU/Linux would be military-"influenced"
linux.

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RP_Joe
The world is moving to Linux. Slow but sure. Asia is moving to Linux.

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jaskerr
Stats? Cite? The use of Linux may be increasing, but enough to qualify Asia as
"moving to Linux?" Piracy of MS products is common throughout Asia, regardless
of the occasional bootleg clampdown theater.

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RP_Joe
Because its free its difficult to track stats. Many are not connected to the
Internet in Asia. China has mandated that all Internet cafe's use Red Linux.
Schools are also changing to Linux. Type "linux India" into Google news and
you will see evidence. Ms are common but that will change. Many were burned on
vista, many will not upgrade to seven and when XP runs out, some more will go
to Linux.

~~~
RP_Joe
Lets not forget Chrome.

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dimitar
Lets see if it happens. I might be a provocation for Microsoft, a bluff.

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cafard
Is he punishing Microsoft for reluctance to participate in actions against
dissident organizations accused of using pirate software?

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wslh
Populism, Populism, Populism!

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ax0n
In Soviet Russia, source open you?

~~~
nickpinkston
In Statist Russia, leadership is closed and software is open.

In Plutocratic America, both are only open to those who pay...

