Ford To Move To Linux 562
KingDaveRa writes "The Register is reporting that motor giant Ford is switching to Linux for its sales systems, human resources, customer relations and infrastructure, referencing a report in yesterday's Scotland on Sunday. According to The Register, the biggest battle was over which Linux vendor to use - RedHat or SuSE." Update: 09/16 01:51 GMT by T : An anonymous reader points to this NewsForge report, according to which Ford is not moving to Linux.
Where do you want to go today? (Score:5, Funny)
SCO Sends Letter To Ford... (Score:5, Funny)
STORY IS UNTRUE - LINK (Score:5, Informative)
Re:STORY IS UNTRUE - LINK (Score:4, Interesting)
The Newsforge people called someone in Detroit. The Register article is referencing an article in a Scottish newspaper. It's quite possible that Ford's UK divisions or all of Ford's European divisions are switching to Linux and the people in Detroit know nothing about it.
Re:Where do you want to go today? (Score:5, Funny)
R can also be "Reboot".
Re:Where do you want to go today? (Score:5, Insightful)
Reinstall
-Rusty
What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:5, Informative)
Are you meaning to tell me that Burlington Coat Factory's [slashdot.org] 1300 Linux boxes back in 1999 wasn't a major win for corporate Linux?
At the time I remembering thinking that it was a pretty important step in showing that Linux was a viable alternative. Apparently no one listened. Is anyone going to listen to Ford?
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:4, Insightful)
with the current state of Ford Vehicles...I'd say No.
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:5, Informative)
I don't know about you, but the Burlington Coat Factory near me doesn't ever seem to have many customers, or employees.
The exact opposite can be said about the local Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Land Rover (ok I'll stop) dealerships.
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:5, Insightful)
Banks (while running OS/2 on the desktop) use full-screened VT-102 terminal emulators to access the bank's server. Have we ever seen those employees running to OS/2 because they used it at work?
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:3, Funny)
whatsamatter, can't afford Linux?
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:3, Informative)
The alternative is called dual-booting :) That's how my partner and I use the same computer. From the perspective of someone who uses a computer as simply a tool, not a whole philosophy, the problem is that if you already use and are familiar with MS software then linux/OOo/whatever will always be second best - you're happier with what you
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:2)
Looks to me like Ford listened.
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:5, Informative)
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) 6 month revenue to 6/2003: $81.56 Billion.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:3, Insightful)
Right, and the ironic thing is, before the SCO suit, many people hadn't heard of Linux, or weren't taking it seriously. Now they have, and do.
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:5, Insightful)
Amazon, IBM, Walmart, and now Ford. The first 3 run profits during a time when many companies went out fo business. I would say some are listening.
Re:What about Burlington in 1999? (Score:3, Informative)
HTTP/1.1 302 Foundo me.html
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 23:05:43 GMT
Server: Stronghold/2.4.2 Apache/1.3.6 C2NetEU/2412 ( Unix ) mod_fastcgi/2.2.12
Set-Cookie: skin=; domain=.amazon.com; path=/; expires=Wed, 01-Aug-01 12:00:00 GMT
Location: http://www.amazon.com:80/exec/obidos/subst/home/h
nnCoection: close
Content-Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1
Then again, look at that "nnCoection" (AKA "Connection") bit....
Muahahahahaha (Score:5, Funny)
Doesn't Gates drive a Ford?
Re:Muahahahahaha (Score:2, Funny)
No, he drives a BMW. [houseoffusion.com]
Recent conversation at M$ (Score:5, Funny)
Suit: Sir, remember that town in Germany that switched to Linux?
Gates: Volvo's then.
Suit: Sir, Sweeden is a socialist country, no doubt they'll be next.
Gates: Lexus then damnit!
Suit: Sir, those aisian countries are developing their own operating system.
Gates: That's it. Transfer all money budgeted for OS R&D into forming a new car company. Hell, we won't even have to change our slogan.
Re:Recent conversation at M$ (Score:3, Informative)
A minor nit -- Volvo now belongs to Ford. Most probably, Gates knows this -- the "suits" around him certainly do.
Re:Fraid not (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Fraid not (Score:5, Funny)
This too (Score:2, Interesting)
Linux... (Score:5, Interesting)
I like the sounds of that.
It makes a lot of sense. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It makes a lot of sense. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It makes a lot of sense. (Score:3, Funny)
does this mean (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Not calvin (Score:4, Informative)
Well, Bill Watterson certainly thought of them that way; he stopped writing C&H because of the massive infringement of Calvin's likeness. Not because of any lost profits to him (he refused to license their likeness to *any* product), but because his beloved characters were being so crudely misrepresented.
Every time I see Calvin on the back of some moron's pickup truck, I can't help but think that that guy helped kill C&H. WTG, buddy.
Re:Not calvin (Score:4, Insightful)
> Those stickers you see all over are not Calvin of Calvin and hobbes fames.
> They are similear, but different enough to not infringe.
They infringe.
People who buy and display them are beneath contempt -- they pollute the memory of The Greatest Comic Strip Evar Bar None.
OTOH, it's sort of a benefit that barbarians who either unaware of such considerations or who don't care publicly identify themselves in this way -- a little like the busty chrome silhouette commonly seen on the backs of trucks, which concisely convey the message "Driver Is Neanderthal".
"There's treasure everywhere." Calvin
No Brainer (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:No Brainer (Score:5, Interesting)
I am an IT manager, and it's not as easy as you think. First, you have core applications, the things that run your business. If you have a development staff, great! However, for the rest of the smaller guys out there we rely on a third party for our core software.
I work for a mortgage broker. I've got our infrastructure running on Linux, but we have to have Windows on the desktop so that our loan origination software will run. (I recently found out that they're switching their software to a
Anyway, back to my point. This is a wonderful move for Ford, and hopefully will add a little more weight to the cause, but not everybody can do it, unfortunately.
Re:No Brainer (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm surely not suggesting this is an easy decision to make, but it's worth seriously looking into. If you have a good, solid Linux-based server environment already - your co
Application programming is a dying paradigm (Score:4, Interesting)
This way, any platform can connect to the application and run it the same way as anyone else would on a Palm Pilot or Pocket PC or Linux or Solaris or Windows or whatever.
Through XML and standard Web technologies, we are making a revolution in availability. No longer does each client/end-user of the application have to download and install certain drivers or use a certain computer -- the application behaves and runs the same on any device.
When an app does have to be a traditional desktop program, don't get me wrong -- I know what works, and I would choose Linux. But for most all-new programs, bosses are increasingly and more often suggesting that these be written for the Web, and for the Web exclusively.
The Linux-vs.-Microsoft thing is dying.
Re:Application programming is a dying paradigm (Score:2, Insightful)
right they just need to download and install a certain web browser [microsoft.com].
So what you're saying is (Score:3, Insightful)
You would like it to be in the hands of people who build obsolescence into their products either by discontinuing support for your happily working Operating System and Userland or by pushing new standards into the common platform.
By funneling the majority of your applications through one client API you could end up staring a
It's a trend that suits almost everyone (Score:3, Insightful)
We're in an age when even the smallest hardware store can buy a highly reliable Linux server and have MySQL and Apache running on it for under $500. All you need then is the software that'll keep your stock inventory, and the equipment to network your existing -- probably low spec -- PCs up, and off you go.
Web apps are beaut
Re:Application programming is a dying paradigm (Score:3, Informative)
jack of all trades, master of none.
Can you tell I work at a helpdesk? heh.
Re:Application programming is a dying paradigm (Score:5, Insightful)
I use a web-based call tracking application in my IT job. Its slow, buggy, and not enterprise worthy by any standard.
Re:Application programming is a dying paradigm (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Application programming is a dying paradigm (Score:5, Interesting)
The web browser has set back application development 20 years.
So what you are saying is that application development on a browser is like COBOL, FORTRAN, and Assembly?
We're in an age when even the smallest hardware store can buy a highly reliable Linux server and have MySQL and Apache running on it for under $500. All you need then is the software that'll keep your stock inventory, and the equipment to network your existing -- probably low spec -- PCs up, and off you go.
Absolutely Right. I recently just built an entire POS(Point of Sale) system for a mechanic. All I did was add a single server (w/ Linux, MySQL, and BlueDragon [newatlanta.com]) added a network card to each machine he already had and now he has a reliable network aware application. Before, he had an old system that could only be run on a single computer. Now his mechanics can be updating maintenance records in the garage while his receptionist is billing customers in the office.
But web apps are a freakin headache for support, BECAUSE of their ability to run on anything.
If you stick to web standards (Not IE Standards), you can miminmize this. Admittedly, it also helps if you can make sure that everyone is using a modern browser. (Mozilla 1.0+, IE 5.5+, Netscape 6.0+)
Compiled programs are still what run mission critical software. They're faster and more reliable.
Compiled programs are faster... Yes. That is the biggest benefit. However, how much speed do you need? My POS system I mentioned above renders most pages in under one-half of a second, Only a few of the reports take a little longer. It is actually faster than the old compiled POS system he replaced. Admittedly, the old system had more data than it could handle, but with the new system I told him when there is more customer data than it can handle we could both retire.
As for reliablity, if your client machine crashes while running a compiled application it is possible to lose data. A web browser is stateless, (even though we use tricks to retain the current state) if a client machine crashes, the chance of losing data is minimal.
In the corporate world, because of problems with the limitations of browser based interfaces and the speed of computers companies are making a big push back in the direction of thick client applications
I disagree, one of the reasons why we are going in the direction of thin clients is that you only need to back-up and provide critical support for the server. It is cheapest to provide this support for the fewest number of computers necessary. The problem with thick-client is installing software updates to the client side and a concept experienced programmers refer to as DLL-Hell.
Re:Application programming is a dying paradigm (Score:3, Insightful)
Huge, Huge, Huge Problem for Microsoft (Score:5, Interesting)
The fact that companies of the size of Ford are switching, rather than just using the threat of Linux as a stick with which to beat Microsoft, will be sending real shivers of fear up the spine of the Beast of Redmond. This is the point at which they have to start changing their business model, and fast, unless they want to spend a few years in the wilderness like IBM did after their business model died. They really don't have much time left...
Re:Huge, Huge, Huge Problem for Microsoft (Score:3, Interesting)
I am waiting to see some further independent coverage before getting too excited.
Re:Huge, Huge, Huge Problem for Microsoft (Score:3, Insightful)
Believe you me, I despise the Great Redmond Beast as much as any other /.'er. But when a company has over 2x their yearly revenue in savings (ie, $50Billion or so), they can afford to spend a few years in the wilderness. I'd say they have quite a good deal of time left... now if yo
Re:Huge, Huge, Huge Problem for Microsoft (Score:3, Interesting)
MS has also not decided that their OS is going to die; they've decided that their OS is complete (at least while they rethink the entire OS metaphor for Longhorn). They're betting on people sticking with Windows XP for the forseeable future, not ditching Windows entirely.
Natural Progression? (Score:5, Funny)
Note to Microsoft: "Tim-berrrrrr"
one question (Score:4, Interesting)
So who won?
Re:one question (Score:3, Informative)
According to the article:
Our understanding is that the battle boiled down to one between Red Hat and SuSE, with the signs earlier this year being that Red Hat might just have got the deal. Ford seemed to want a Red Hat systems admin in Detroit back in January, anyway, but it'd maybe make some sense to use the local player in Germany, and our sources claim SuSE and Red Hat both pitched in the States, so you could maybe view the job as being more about bringing Linux servers into the infrastructure than spe
Ford dumped by Gates (Score:3, Funny)
I still say... (Score:2)
Next to follow, might be major software vendors starting to release apps for Linux- stuff that you currently might find on SUN or SGI machines, and what you will also find running on Windows machines.
I predict that in 5 years the landscape will be *very* different than what it is today. MS has had thier day in the sun.
Have you driven a Ford Lately? (Score:2, Informative)
Its been years, but I'm impressed with Ford for this move. Something tells me MS wont bee too pleased though.
Now I want to see new car prices drop, as this should save them tons of money on upgrades, etc.
Now if they would just fix the computers in their cars, so they would run better.. lol
Another Acronym? (Score:2)
Of
Retarded
Darl?
HELP! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:HELP! (Score:3, Insightful)
Heh... (Score:5, Funny)
wait for it...
"Built Fjord Tough."
Re:Heh... (Score:3, Informative)
The old Ford quote; (Score:3, Funny)
"you can have linux in any flavour you like as long as it is Redhat (or Suse)" (Ford - 2003)
The Future is Open (Score:2)
Time for that old chestnut (Score:5, Funny)
At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with the technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon".
In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10.You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.
I dare SCO (Score:5, Insightful)
to try sending Ford an invoice!
Come on Darl!
Actually a good point (Score:5, Interesting)
Ford Without Windows? (Score:5, Funny)
Servers not Workstations (Score:4, Informative)
This is a server consolidation project moving all exisisting servers onto large (multi processor etc etc) Unix machines.
Re:Servers not Workstations (Score:4, Insightful)
It sounds like a Dilbert (Score:3, Funny)
"Realizing that it was purchasing obsolete technology that consumes space and costs money, Ford Motor Company began evaluating its alternatives with help from Dell."
They should have interviewed Steve Jobs. I'm sure he'd have given them some great quotes about floppy-less PCs.
Maybe Dell will next write a white paper about PCs without PS/2 keyboard or mouse ports!
steveha
Ford and SAP (Score:3, Informative)
Once it became expensive, Linux got accepted... (Score:2)
I can't even begin to think how many people have said (in redneck voice) "Free? How kin it be any good iffn it's free? Microsoft rules!! W0000t!"
GF.
Switching from Ford (Score:5, Funny)
Okay, now lets make Ford like Microsoft...
My Ford has an oil leak. Ford doesn't call to tell me to tell me there's a big problem with oil leaks and a fix is available, but I find out from a guy on the Internet that they will fix it for free. I get my car back home from the shop and the next day there's oil all over the floor. I call Ford and they tell me they'll fix it next week.
A month later a repair is available. On the way home from the shop I crash into a tree because the oil leak fix conflicted with the brake system. Ford says, yeah, that's been happening... there should be a fix for the fix next week. I spend more than the car is worth rebuilding it, (Ford said I should have test driven it before I drove it home.) but can't really drive it safely until the fixed fix is available. I get home from the shop without getting in an accident (after the fixed fix) and as I pull into my driveway my neighbor says, Hey bill, did you know you've got a pretty bad oil leak? Disgusted, I take my Ford to the dealer and want to buy another car, preferably non Ford. He informs me that all the dealers in the area carry only Fords. But, he says, the newest, fanciest, most expensive Ford has been completely redesigned and is guaranteed not to have oil leaks.
Without much choice, I tell the dealer I'll take the new Ford and would like to trade in my old Ford. He informs me the old one isn't worth anything, but for a few dollars off he can give me an upgrade. I just have to keep my old Ford at home and every time I want to start the engine of my new Ford, I have to put the key in the old one first. This works okay for awhile. (Although I have to have the new Ford rebuilt as well because I'm T-boned by a guy in an older Ford that just repaired his oil leak.) A little bit later I come out and my new Ford has an oil leak!
I call Ford and they tell me there will be a fix next week. The fix is available in a couple of months and I take it in for repair. Remembering my brake incident, I stomp on the brakes several times hard, check the lights, washers and air bag. It all works well. I try to drive home but can't get there because the interstate is blocked with leaky Fords that have been T-boned by leaky Fords with bad brakes. I try to pass the time by listening to the radio... but it doesn't work any more. Since I can't get home, I head back to the dealer to complain about the radio. They tell me they can get the radio working but the "work-around" will kill my rear defogger. If I wait another 6 months though, a new model is being released that won't have oil, brake or radio problems...
I get angry and drive out of town to a dealership I heard about that can supply me with a custom configured *NIX Automobile. The dealer is cool but the new *NIX is way harder to drive than the Ford. I like it though and decide to buy one. Unfortunately, there is some kind of law or agreement that says I have to pay for a Ford (even though I don't get it) as well a fee to have my new *NIX setup and delivered.
At this point I give up with the dealers, go buy the book "Rebuilding your Ford into a *NIX in 21 days", do so, and live happily ever after. ( Later, I have a good laugh when a Ford rep comes on TV and tells the world that the latest Ford fiasco could have been avoided if all owners would just give a spare set of house keys to them so they could come in whenever they want and work on them when the owners aren't around. )
http://lists.netsys.com/pipermail/full-disclosure
Not all oil leaks are bad. (Score:3, Funny)
Well...put it this way (Score:5, Funny)
Windoze on the client (Score:3, Interesting)
Or does it just mean they'll be using IE on Windows and some hidden servers they never see will be doing all the back-end processing for their browser-based sales system, human resources and customer relations applications?
Deploying linux server-side is old news, and (after actually reading both articles) I really don't see language that indicates Ford's linux decision is anything but server-side infrastructure. Did I miss the client-side comment that make this "a serious step forward for Linux in the corporate market" ?
Re:Windoze on the client (Score:3, Interesting)
Quoting from the article:
So the dozens of "this is wonderful news" s
Confirmation? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't have the balls to do it, but can anyone get Ford on the phone? Or are there any Ford.com people who read slashdot who can verify?
Red Hat or SUSE? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Red Hat or SUSE? (Score:3, Funny)
Yes, a cat's got my tongue, OK? (Score:5, Funny)
What about engineering (Score:5, Informative)
I'm anxious to know if this Linux adoption will switch their engineering requirements. I guess only time will tell.
Obligatory.. (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft: Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.
(Shamelessly stolen from D.N.A.)
I agree, biggest win yet (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, I agree. Microsoft has lost all credibility in the public eye for their ability to fix their permanently defective product line (watched the Comedy channels lately? Comedians are getting laughs at Microsoft's expense). Windows is simply getting in the way of people doing their work (updates, upgrades, security patch, REPEAT!).
Ford's a big name brand company, it's American as apple pie, and has nothing to do with technology. That Microsoft couldn't hang on to them speaks to the value proposition of Linux over Windows. To restate the quote above another way, this is the biggest win for Linux to date.
When Does An Avalanche Begin? (Score:5, Insightful)
When Ballmer lost the Munich deal and went for an extended ski holiday in Switzerland, he already knew what was coming.
With all the licensing pain, arm-twisting upgrades, incompatible Office formats, treadmills from last year and the worms from this year, the momentum will gather and feed itself.
As more companies, governments and educational institutions worldwide adopt Linux, there will be more coders and money to make Linux more usable and an even more favorable migration path for users.
Two years from now everyone will be amazed except for the zealots who will be shaking their heads wondering "What took it so long?".
Why choose, man? (Score:4, Interesting)
I guarantee you that the Ford motor company's IT department is bigger than either RedHat or SuSE. Why choose a distro when you can make your own system so easily? I mean, which is better: paying high priced consultants and smooth talking project managers to solve your emergency problems on their terms, or pressuring your own guys to do the same?
Plus, who wouldn't want to see Ford Linux? I may not like Ford cars, or Ford as a car company, but Ford as an engineering paradigm is something that I have respected for a LONG time. I even used to have a big Ford emblem on my first webserver...because it was as reliable as my old Ranger, which wasn't very reliable at all. It wouldn't have to be an official distribution, but wouldn't it be great if it was? Ford Linux, emphasis on secure embedded transaction systems. Direct competition with Microsoft in the market...and Linux on the dashboard of Fords, Cougars, Volvos, Jaguars...
And why is it so strange that Ford should make software? GM owns an insurance company and a bank. GE owns a damn TV network. Hell, this company we just partnered with is somehow owned by Niagra Mohawk, the power company responsible for the northeastern blackout last month. Their "core competency" may be automotive design, but if you've got a massive team of hackers tapping away at infrastructure code already, you might as well sell it. Use your name to take it to Joe Nascar's Dell...
Re:Why choose, man? (Score:3, Insightful)
I guarantee you that the combination of Ford's IT department and either RedHat or SuSE is bigger than Ford's IT department alone. Why re-invent the wheel?
Re:Why choose, man? (Score:3, Insightful)
If its not in your core business you are just distracting yourself from the part of your business that pays the bills. I've seen companies who allow themselves to
Not suprised (Score:3, Interesting)
Ford move to Linux untrue! (Score:5, Informative)
-- snip --
Joan Witte, Communications Manager for Ford Motor Information Technology, had this statement to make late this afternoon when I called her at her Detroit office about a story being reported that Ford was moving to Linux.
Witte said "Like any other company, Ford Motor is looking at Linux, primarily in the application space. We presently have an enterprise-wide agreement with Microsoft to handle our collaborative solutions. We aren't contemplating using Linux in this area, and don't contemplate doing that in the foreseeable future."
-- snip --
Partly Wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
Joan Witte, Communications Manager for Ford Motor Information Technology, had this statement to make late this afternoon when I called her at her Detroit office about a story being reported that Ford was moving to Linux.
Witte said "Like any other company, Ford Motor is looking at Linux, primarily in the application space. We presently have an enterprise-wide agreement with Microsoft to handle our collaborative solutions. We aren't contemplating using Linux in this area, and don't contemplate doing that in the foreseeable future."
Regarding the source of the rumor, Witte said "I'm not sure where they got the info from, but I'd like to know."
Re:ford moves to linux (Score:3, Insightful)
i thought i was at slashdot???
wtf?
where is the 'new' linux hangout??
Re:ford moves to linux (Score:2)
usually reserved for Karma whores who post anonymously.
Re:They'll come crying back (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:They'll come crying back (Score:2)
Re:They'll come crying back (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:They'll come crying back (Score:2)
You don't seem to understand how big this win is. (Score:3, Informative)
EDI (Score:3, Interesting)
Customers don't send Ford
The vast majority of MS Office files are going to be internally generated, and Open/Star Office can handle them well enough.
Re:well then (Score:3, Funny)
isn't this GM's trademark?
or did I miss something?
Re:Not a global company (Score:2)