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posted by martyb on Sunday November 15 2015, @07:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the freeedom! dept.

The European Union's interoperability page reports:

The council of the Swiss capital of Bern on 12 November ordered the IT department to end its dependence on proprietary software. The council halved the city's request for a six-year [license] contract and insisted on an exit plan. A majority of [councilors] wants the city to replace proprietary software by open source solutions such as Linux and LibreOffice.

The exit plan should be based on pilot projects that consider alternatives, the city council decided. With 53 of the total 67 votes, the council changed the city's desktop software plans. The [councilors] want applications to become independent from PC operating system or office productivity tools. And in late 2018, when desktop operating and office [licenses] expire, Bern has to publish an open call for tender, using vendor-neutral specifications.

"Basically, from now on, the IT department may only procure and implement solutions that are platform-independent", the [councilors] agreed on Thursday.

[...] In a statement on 13 November, the Swiss Parliamentary Group on Digital Sustainability welcomed the change in IT strategy of the capital. The group offered to help the city with its exit plan, pointing to documentation such as a checklist to help public administrations to procure open source software solutions.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by stormreaver on Sunday November 15 2015, @02:14PM

    by stormreaver (5101) on Sunday November 15 2015, @02:14PM (#263649)

    Is it purely for the desktop (itself a dying platform....

    It's going to be a long time before the desktop dies (think 25-30 years at the very earliest). But yes, the article (yeah, I know) says this decision is for the desktop.

    But once you have the desktop, when you already have the server, the rest falls into place naturally.

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  • (Score: 2) by VortexCortex on Sunday November 15 2015, @10:35PM

    by VortexCortex (4067) on Sunday November 15 2015, @10:35PM (#263781)

    It's going to be a long time before the desktop dies

    Here I sit. My laser keyboard docking with my phone sitting atop my desk and it projecting a display upon the wall at my desk.

    Mark my words: We shan't be rid of the "desk top" until we get rid of the desk.