Analysis Some of the common arguments for moving away from proprietary operating systems are about increasing personal (or corporate) freedom and reducing expenses, but there are bigger things at stake.
CrowdStrike blew up the Internet
CrowdStrike's botched update took down Windows-based computer systems around the world and had widespread effects outside of IT. Microsoft software permeates so much of the connected, computer-driven world that it's easy to think it's universal.
What has received less attention is that two of the world's largest countries were largely spared due to geopolitical maneuvering. As the BBC put it, China deflected the worst of the global tech meltdown. The South China Morning Post's coverage said Chinese cyber security companies are taking a victory lap.
Until last year, The Reg FOSS desk was based where Eastern and Western Europe meet. We took a close personal interest in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and we've reported on how Linux adoption is spreading in Russia due to Western sanctions. A Russian provider of Debian derivatives already planned to go public in 2022, and other distributions we never see in the West, such as ROSA Linux and the Calculate Linux family, are thriving.
