The city of Munich has insisted it is on track with its massive Linux migration, in the face of claims in the German Senate that the project seemed to have failed before it ever got off the ground.Under the LiMux project, which commenced in 2004, Munich is migrating 14,000 desktops from Windows to a custom Linux distribution running mostly open-source software.However, two weeks ago a senior government IT official told the Senate that the migration had ground to a halt, citing an inside source.Peter Hofmann, director of the LiMux project, begs to differ. The project’s prototype client operating system was presented to the public at the end of May, and the city is now in the middle of testing application software with 100 users, Hofmann told Heise, a German IT news organization, last week. “Open-source software at the workplace is a reality in Munich,” Hofmann said.Munich Mayor Christian Ude and deputy Christine Strobl are among those taking part in the trials. Meanwhile, most city administration users are using open-source programs for Web, e-mail and graphics editing, although Windows is still the underlying platform, Hofmann said. He said the administration is looking to migrate users to platform-neutral systems, such as Web services, where possible, in order to ease the transition to the LiMux platform. Systems such as license plate registration have already been ported to Web-based applications.The city administration said the LiMux platform will begin trials in the autumn, with a gradual rollout planned over the next two years.In 2004, the administration temporarily suspended LiMux because of fears that then-pending patent legislation could expose open-source users to new legal liabilities.Hofmann also admitted that once the process had recommenced, there were further delays, because of difficulties in evaluating the various bids for developing and maintaining the platform. But since then, everything has gone smoothly, he said.-Matthew Broersma, Techworld.com (London)Related Link: Snail Mail Hinders Australia Open Source CampaignCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content Feature How culture and strategic partnerships help fuel transformation Marc Hale, CTO for AIA New Zealand, recently spoke with Cathy O’Sullivan, editor for CIO New Zealand, about navigating the complexities of digital transformation, and focusing on culture to enable healthier outcomes for customers. By CIO staff Mar 22, 2023 7 mins CTO Digital Transformation Change Management Feature 10 things CIOs wish they knew from the start Go slower. Network. Tell stories. Get training. Be kind. CIOs have plenty of advice they’d give to their younger selves if they could. By Martin Veitch Mar 22, 2023 7 mins CIO Careers IT Management Interview CIO Karriem Shakoor on harnessing the power of data democratization The UL Solutions tech chief aims to empower business stakeholders and improve marketing and sales effectiveness through comprehensive data transformation. By Martha Heller Mar 22, 2023 5 mins Data Management IT Leadership News Nvidia accelerates enterprise adoption of generative AI Nvidia’s AI Foundations as-a-service offering aims to help enterprises build and run AI models that generate text, graphics, and even proteins. By Peter Sayer Mar 21, 2023 5 mins Cloud Management Infrastructure Management Artificial Intelligence Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe