Report favours open source, Windows mix for Bundestag

The Bundestux campaign to get the German Bundestag to adopt open source software has experienced a possible setback, in the shape of a report that recommends open source for adoption in some areas, but leaves Microsoft on the desktop. This can still be counted as progress, and certainly doesn't flatter Microsoft, but if the Bundestag accepts the recommendations it won't constitute a total defeat for the company either.

According to a report at Heise.de (regrettably, the English version seems to have had an unsatisfactory assignation with Babelfish), a five month study by Berlin company Infora concludes that open source is most apppropriate for mailserver and groupware tasks, while for file and print serving open source also came out ahead.

Security issues associated with Microsoft's email software meant the company was marked down here, but Windows remained most appropriate on the desktop, and of five permutations examined the top-to-bottom, 100 per cent open source one came out bottom. So it looks like a compromise, but no decision has yet been made, and Bundestux, with over 20,000 supporters, is still campaigning. ®

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MS chief lashes out at German Free Software petition