Cuba Switching to Linux

Tony Montana writes "According to several news sites the government of Cuba is dumping Windows in favour of Linux. Cuba's director of information technology, Roberto del Puerto, says that Cuba already has approximately 1500 computers running on Linux, and is working towards replacing Windows on all state owned computers."

Lets start counting

[__aahlyu4518]

how many people will make a comment about communism and linux....

this is 1

whoo hoo 1500 !

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah 1500 computers !!, eat that AMIGA !!

Viva

[FidelCatsro]

Yay for me.
Not that we could import windows due to the trade sanctions anyway ;)

(btw yes its a joke , my name is a pun)

And that children

[Timesprout]

is how the Bay of Penguins incident began...

At least one

[Udo Schmitz]

In communist Cuba Linux switches you! Oh my ...

Positive Image

[datadriven]

That's great Cuba has such a positive image. This is bound to make people switch to linux in droves.

Che Tux Revolution!

[Anonymous Coward]

Can I get my Che Tux Revolution TShirt signed by Fidel?

OS is Communism

[larjon]

Well, we all know that OpenSource is Communism :)

Re:Viva

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think that word means what you think it does.

Another communications barrier

[jsheedy]

Man, not only do the illegals have to deal with never speaking the language when they boat over, but now they will have the deal with not being able to use the computers that are here either.

So much for spying

[jocknerd]

How are we ever going to spy on these countries if they stop using Windows?

Re:Communists!

[zero_offset]

Middle America? Step away from the Tolkien, laddie.

Re:WMDs

[CommunistTroll]

Who? Cuba? Cuba has about as many WMD as Iraq did.

Re:Lets start counting

[elasticwings]

Cuba the country??? I thought they were talking about Cuba Gooding Jr. Damn, for a minute there, I thought we could use his celebrity power to start convincing people that Linux really is cool.

Re:Lets start counting

[Anonymous Coward]

This is Slashdot. Don't you mean:

this is 0

hmmmm

[Chaos_Thoery]

This has got me thinkning. If Cuba is switching to Linux, there is a greater possibility that North Korea uses or will switch to Linux too. This is actually good because imagine at some super secret North Korea nuclear missile silo, some Windows box displays: "A fatal exception 0E has occurred at 0028:C0011E36 in VXD VMM(01)+00010E36. The current application, 'missiles standby', will be terminated." So actually, there IS a reason they call it the blue screen of DEATH.

Re:Go Cuba!

[Pig Hogger]

I expect Castro feels safer with Linux anyway as he's problaby concerned about all those NSA-mandated backdoors in Windows.

Windoze is so pathetically full of holes it doesn't need a NSA-mandate...

Re:Lets start counting

[CommunistTroll]

This whole story is just *too* easy.

Re:Lets start counting

[ssj_195]

Damn, for a minute there, I thought we could use his celebrity power to start convincing people that Linux really is cool.

Nah - that's Wil Wheaton's job! ;)

Free as in...?

[jferguson]

One pictures Castro saying over and over, "No, that's 'free' as in 'beer'..."

Re:Lets start counting

[nacturation]

... or the physical similarities between Stallman and Castro. :)

Re:Can Microsoft even legally sell Windows in Cuba

[Intron]

That's only US law, not something with real teeth like the MS EULA.

Re:WMDs

[Anonymous Coward]

For instance, you can't take your Cuban girlfriend up to your hotel room without paying a bribe.

Cuban girlfriends - yeah, that's another area where capitalism works nicely ;)

Free as in beer, then

[sita]

The free as in speach surely doesn't appeal to Fidelito.

He's a good actor, but ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Cuba's a good actor and all (not too sure about Radio though), but I had NO IDEA he was such a computer geek!

Re:Lets start counting

[DenDave]

Communix?

Marxism Linism?

The Shining PATH?

Mao's Red Hat?

chkguevarra?

This is the sound of C.. [muziekcentrum.be]

Re:Lets start counting

[Trigun]

And with yesterday's article about Cuban shooting off his mouth, I don't know what to believe. I thought it was a dupe.

Bill Gates...

[RoadkillBunny]

Big G should have shut up when he was saying that Linux is made by communists... They are loosing business because of that now.

Re:Nice Anti-Usian Propaganda, Now Some Facts

[Simonetta]

Overall, Cuba has a national GDP of $33.92 billion,

The reality simply is that Cuba is run by a corrupt and incompetant military dictator whose only prior qualification was being a spoiled rich kid and lawyer.

It sounds to me like Big Bill would be quite comfortable here, when he decides to retire. At only $33 Billion, he could just buy the whole place. Imagine him growing out his hair and having his image replacing all those of Che.

He could be just as corrupt and incompetent as he wants to be and no one would notice the difference. He'd have to get used to making eight hour speeches about the evil imperialist Linux worms, but we got pills now that make that no problem.

As for the rest of us, we'd finally get a real high quality English/Spanish translator built into
Windows!

On the greater metaphor of Cuba switching to Linux

[Haiku 4 U]

Windows is a poor
OS. Like an MP3,
No Fidel-ity.

Re:Lets start counting

[Megane]

Where can I get the Tux Guevara T-shirt? It ought to look good with my Red Hat cap.

/viva la revolution!

Re:I am just curious to know...

[Filip22012005]

Isn't it a win-lin situation?

Re:whoo hoo 1500 !

[Anonymous Coward]

"The remaining 25 computers in the country will be upgraded to linux as time permits."

-Fidel

Why not NetBSD?

[amdg]

It seems like NetBSD would have been a better choice to install on the hardware available [therealcuba.com] in Cuba. Hopefully they will comply with the GPL and release the changes necessary to make these ports.

(Laugh. It's funny.)

Re:Lets start counting

[smchris]

They already have a health care system that costs a fraction of U.S. care and provides a similar mean population longevity. Linux seems like a natural complement to that efficiency.

But what if they decide to host the North American linux conference some year and nobody in the U.S. can go?

Re:Nice Anti-Usian Propaganda, Now Some Facts

[Pomme de Terre!]

"Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy." - John Derbyshire

Re:Lets start counting

[Spy der Mann]

Damn, for a minute there, I thought we could use his celebrity power to start convincing people that Linux really is cool.

I can Imagine Castro doing a commercial for Linux:

"Linux. Works for computers as old as myself!" (smokes cigar)

Re:Nice Anti-Usian Propaganda, Now Some Facts

[kent_eh]

...whose only prior qualification was being a spoiled rich kid and lawyer.

And that makes him different from most politicians in most countries how?