Dutch Government Looks to Dump Microsoft Windows

Can you blame them? From The Register: Dutch government turns to NixOS for a sovereign desktop

The Netherlands is looking to create a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) solution for their PCs, based on NixOS. NixOS is a version of Linux built around the Nix package manager. (That is the software updater for that distribution.)

DAWO stands for "Digitaal Autonome Werkomgeving Overheid," or "Digital Autonomous Government Work Environment." Rather than a single product, its blueprint combines replaceable components for the operating system, cloud infrastructure, AI, communications, and collaborative working. Development remains at an early stage, but small-scale pilots are already under way within Dutch public bodies.

They started by working in 4 cities, since expanded to 8. And they didn't start with NixOS.

For its client OS, the project initially experimented with openSUSE, then Fedora, before settling on NixOS. The Reg FOSS desk has written about NixOS several times, including its radical approach to package management and the arrival of NixOS 22.11.

NixOS offers more than a conveniently Dutch pedigree. It is not controlled by a commercial vendor, while its declarative configuration and reproducible deployments make it attractive for managing and auditing large fleets of machines.

Microsoft is making the Windows experience so painful, that people are deciding to be done with it. Stuffing AI down everyone's throats, whether they want it or not. The entire Windows 10/Windows 11 PC support insanity. That doesn't even cover the security issues. And the cost - Software as a Service sounds great to shareholders of Microsoft, but not so much to people who have to pay for things. And the alternatives today are not limited to Apple, though I know some companies are giving more employees Apple laptops.