LiMux
Encyclopedia
LiMux is a project by the city council of Munich
to migrate their software systems, including 14,000 personal computer
s and laptop
s of public employees, to free and open source software
. Similar projects were started with differing success in Vienna
(Wienux
), Solothurn
, Amsterdam
(Open.Amsterdam), and Zaragoza
(AZLinux).
LiMux is also the name of the Linux distribution
being used for the project. LiMux is the first Linux-based workplace certified for industry use (ISO 9241
) by the TÜV
IT, Technical Service, Germany. It was based on Debian
. Version 3 available from 2011 is based on Ubuntu 8.10 and version 4 will be based on Ubuntu 10.10.
-based) business applications.
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to migrate their software systems, including 14,000 personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s and laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s of public employees, to free and open source software
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
. Similar projects were started with differing success in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(Wienux
Wienux
WIENUX is a Debian-based Linux distribution developed by the City of Vienna in Austria. Its main purpose is to replace proprietary operating systems and applications on the municipality's thousands of desktop computers with free and open source alternatives based around KDE, OpenOffice.org and...
), Solothurn
Solothurn
The city of Solothurn is the capital of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The city also comprises the only municipality of the district of the same name.-Pre-roman settlement:...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(Open.Amsterdam), and Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
(AZLinux).
LiMux is also the name of the Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
being used for the project. LiMux is the first Linux-based workplace certified for industry use (ISO 9241
ISO 9241
ISO 9241 is a multi-part standard from the International Organization for Standardization covering ergonomics of human-computer interaction. It is managed by the ISO...
) by the TÜV
Technischer Überwachungsverein
TÜVs are German organizations that work to validate the safety of products of all kinds to protect humans and the environment against hazards. As independent consultants, they examine plants, motor vehicles, energy installations, devices and products TÜVs (short for Technischer...
IT, Technical Service, Germany. It was based on Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
. Version 3 available from 2011 is based on Ubuntu 8.10 and version 4 will be based on Ubuntu 10.10.
Objectives
The migration project in Munich is ongoing and not an overnight switch to free software on every desktop. The main goal is to achieve more independence from software distributors, concerning client/server and native client software. The decision in 2003 had two components, on the one hand to get free software running on most of the desktops, and on the other hand to buy and develop web-based and platform independent (e.g. JavaJava (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
-based) business applications.
Timeline
- May 28, 2003 - The city councilCity councilA city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
of Munich votes to go ahead with planning. (From the press release: "Until spring 2004, a detailed concept of implementation and migration will be developed. Based on the results of this evaluation, the city council will decide how the migration to Linux will take place.") - June 16, 2004 - The city council votes 50-29 in favor of migrating and to start an open competitive bidding within months
- August 5, 2004 - The project is temporarily halted, due to legal uncertainties concerning software patents.
- April 28, 2005 - DebianDebianDebian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
is selected as a platform. - September 6, 2005 - It is decided that the project needs an additional one year pilot testPilot (experiment)A pilot experiment, also called a pilot study, is a small scale preliminary study conducted in order to evaluate feasibility, time, cost, adverse events, and effect size in an attempt to predict an appropriate sample size and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale...
, and migration slips one year. - September 22, 2006 - The "soft" migrationSystem migrationSystem migration involves moving a set of instructions or programs, e.g., PLC programs, from one platform to another, minimizing reengineering....
begins, one year behind original schedule. - November 2008: 1200 out of 14,000 have migrated to the LiMux environment (9%; March 2008: 1000=7%), in addition 12000 workstations use OpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
2 installed on Windows (March 2008: 6000) and more 100% use Mozilla FirefoxMozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
1.5 and Mozilla ThunderbirdMozilla ThunderbirdMozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
1.5 (March 2008: 90%). 18000 of 21000 macros, templates and forms are changed into Linux-enabled - 29 May 2008: The related WollMux-software, developed in-house to support personalised templates and forms in office textprocessing, is declared Open Source
- 31 December 2009: The first step, the complete switch to OpenOffice.org enabling the Open Document Format as standard format is done
- June 2010: "More than 3000" are LiMux-workplaces by now. Further 2000 shall migrate in 2010.
- In February of 2011 more than 5000 workplaces were based on LiMux.
- In June of 2011 more than 6500 workplaces were based on LiMux.