The Netherlands is building its own Linux OS to break free from Microsoft

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Microsoft No More: European countries are increasing efforts to build sovereign digital infrastructure to replace Microsoft and other US-based solutions. The Dutch government is even working on its own Linux distribution because The Hague is reportedly tired of Washington's threats against EU-based institutions.

The Dutch government is trying to solve its digital sovereignty problem with its own Linux operating system. A local source recently highlighted the development efforts being poured into NixOS, a Linux distro that originated as a package manager created by Dutch developers. The idea is that US-based software solutions, most notably Microsoft's, would eventually be replaced by this new OS and open-source productivity solutions.

Nix is a package manager with a few peculiar features, including cross-platform compatibility and its own functional programming language for configuring Unix and Unix-like systems. The tool was first released in 2003, and NixOS debuted three years later. The Linux distro is built around Nix and is currently supported by the Dutch nonprofit organization NixOS Foundation.

Nix and NixOS are the foundations of the Digitaal Autonome Werkomgeving Overheid (DAWO) project, which includes all the tools required to build a sovereign IT infrastructure. With DAWO, The Hague plans to provide government and public institutions with a custom operating system, productivity and office applications, cloud services, management tools, and everything in between.

Serious efforts to build the DAWO-based sovereign infrastructure apparently began a few months ago, when Dutch authorities decided to standardize the creation of a national IT ecosystem. The project is focused on accessibility, because NixOS developers are not exactly enthusiastic proponents of heavily GUI-based computer interfaces.

DAWO's first pilot programs have already been deployed in private and local environments, but the plan should eventually encompass all institutions in the Netherlands. Sovereignty efforts in the country apparently stalled for years, but the new US administration provided the right incentives to finally get the job done.

Washington authorities recently decided to target the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) with sanctions, while Microsoft allegedly blocked the court's prosecutors from accessing its email and other crucial IT services. The ICC is already replacing Microsoft Office with an open-source alternative, as DAWO and NixOS are going to extend the sovereignty efforts even further.

Earlier this year, the Netherlands blocked an attempt by a US company to buy a crucial app used by Dutch citizens. Elsewhere in Europe, countries are investing millions in massive conversion projects based on the same concept: replacing Windows, Microsoft, and most US software services with Linux, open-source software, or other custom solutions.

Masthead credit: LEN Journeys

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The Netherlands is building its own Linux OS to break free from Microsoft

 

[Art C]

Any move away from Windows is a good one. The desktop is the final Microsoft slave plantation and it must be abolished.

 

[winjer]

It's great to see so many governments moving away from Microsoft, Windows and Office. It should have been sooner, but it's better late than never.

 

[Axeia]

Should be done on the EU rather than country level, other than that - great idea.

 

[J Oelschl]

Hilarious. Why would the want to waste effort on having their own distro? Especially a distro that is light on GUI functionality. People have become dependent on easy to use GUIs that have familiar idioms and functionalities. That is the problem with most Linux distros. Each fork does things their own way and none of it is standard or intuitive. Pick an existing distro and focus on the apps that you need. Why waste time and effort on having to develop and support the plumbing rather than the actual problem at hand. I remember when Germany tried to do this and the finally relented and came back into the Microsoft fold. I predict the same will happen here.

 

[pnntmp]

It's great to see so many governments moving away from Microsoft, Windows and Office. It should have been sooner, but it's better late than never.

We don't see that, we see assorted bureaucratic declarations of intent to do it.

Just here, I've seen dozens of such articles during the last couple of years. All these bureaucratic endeavors are silently scrapped at some point, because, surprisingly, achieving these goals appears to be orders of magnitude more difficult than declaring them.

 

[yRaz]

Hilarious. Why would the want to waste effort on having their own distro? Especially a distro that is light on GUI functionality. People have become dependent on easy to use GUIs that have familiar idioms and functionalities. That is the problem with most Linux distros. Each fork does things their own way and none of it is standard or intuitive. Pick an existing distro and focus on the apps that you need. Why waste time and effort on having to develop and support the plumbing rather than the actual problem at hand. I remember when Germany tried to do this and the finally relented and came back into the Microsoft fold. I predict the same will happen here.

Tell everyone you've never used linux without telling them you've never used Linux

 

[bviktor]

Developing your own distro is for people who don't understand what configuration management is or how mass deployment works.

 

[yRaz]

Developing your own distro is for people who don't understand what configuration management is or how mass deployment works.

They aren't "developing" their own distro, they're taking off the shelf packages and pairing it with free, already available software

It'll probably be based on Ubuntu or Debian LTS, use KDE and come preconfigured with all the software and tools they expect to need.

Most "distros" are managed by 8-12.people in their free time. The main reason that Arch users are so annoying is that they think installing arch and putting all the packages together is a big deal, it's not.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

It's great to see so many governments moving away from Microsoft, Windows and Office. It should have been sooner, but it's better late than never.

It is great. And these moves will have a snowball effect making it ever easier to move for the next entity.

It's also hilarious that US "national security" moves have been breaking US tech near monopolies around the globe. Unintended consequences!

 

[trparky]

As more countries and their governments embrace Linux, it might very well bring about the standardization that Linux so absolutely desperately needs.

As J Oelschl alluded to, one of the biggest hindrances to Linux has to achieving mass-market adoption, world domination, and, of course, bringing about a world where Microsoft is nothing more than a footnote in the annals of history is that there's no cohesiveness in the community. Everyone is doing their own thing.

We can see that in how there's half a dozen package managers. Why? Standardize it already! We can also see how there's like three or four different window managers. Why?

Everyone is working on their own thing yet, and hear me out on this, what if everyone had come together to work towards one common goal. Hell, Microsoft practically gave the Linux community the opportunity of a lifetime back when Windows 8 was released. Windows 8 was universally hated. The Linux community could have very well gone in for the kill and everyone across the world would've been better for it.

But no, the Linux community has never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Getting back to my original idea here, various countries and governments coming into the picture might actually bring about the final death of Microsoft. And when that day happens, I will drink to it.

 

[toooooot]

Hilarious. Why would the want to waste effort on having their own distro? Especially a distro that is light on GUI functionality. People have become dependent on easy to use GUIs that have familiar idioms and functionalities. That is the problem with most Linux distros. Each fork does things their own way and none of it is standard or intuitive. Pick an existing distro and focus on the apps that you need. Why waste time and effort on having to develop and support the plumbing rather than the actual problem at hand. I remember when Germany tried to do this and the finally relented and came back into the Microsoft fold. I predict the same will happen here.

Mint was intuitive. I spent a weak working out another issue and immediately found alternatives for apps I use in windows. Not to mention it was very quick and responsive. Where it suck is where it refuses to accept a hardware that you need to work. Which is why they should not do it alone, it will cost a lot. Rather than that, all Europeans should share the supporting expenses which will not be small.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

As more countries and their governments embrace Linux, it might very well bring about the standardization that Linux so absolutely desperately needs.

As J Oelschl alluded to, one of the biggest hindrances to Linux has to achieving mass-market adoption, world domination, and, of course, bringing about a world where Microsoft is nothing more than a footnote in the annals of history is that there's no cohesiveness in the community. Everyone is doing their own thing.

We can see that in how there's half a dozen package managers. Why? Standardize it already! We can also see how there's like three or four different window managers. Why?

Everyone is working on their own thing yet, and hear me out on this, what if everyone had come together to work towards one common goal. Hell, Microsoft practically gave the Linux community the opportunity of a lifetime back when Windows 8 was released. Windows 8 was universally hated. The Linux community could have very well gone in for the kill and everyone across the world would've been better for it.

But no, the Linux community has never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Getting back to my original idea here, various countries and governments coming into the picture might actually bring about the final death of Microsoft. And when that day happens, I will drink to it.

If you want standardization, use Windows or MacOS. Linux was built on individual choice, that is why there are multiple options for everything. Trying to enforce a "standard" will only result in yet another option that nobody uses.

It's always funny when non linux users do this though. Stop being a tourist and learn why people adopt linux over "standardized" corpo slop.

 

[Archean]

Tell everyone you've never used linux without telling them you've never used Linux

Pretty much spot on.

Its not just Europeans, Chinese are already far ahead on this road, and Indians too have started developing their own flavors. Beside, KDE / Gnome are very mature DTEs now, to the point where any novice can find their way around them with minimal effort.

They aren't "developing" their own distro, they're taking off the shelf packages and pairing it with free, already available software

It'll probably be based on Ubuntu or Debian LTS, use KDE and come preconfigured with all the software and tools they expect to need.

Most "distros" are managed by 8-12.people in their free time. The main reason that Arch users are so annoying is that they think installing arch and putting all the packages together is a big deal, it's not.

I use Arch, Ubuntu, Pop_OS!, Manjaro, LMDE and Debian Sid on various machines, and I don't think 'using Arch' is any different from the others, so bragging about it shall not be a thing IMHO.

 

[Eldrach]

They’re using this distro as it is built by Dutch developers - and maintained by Dutch developers.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Keywords: wants to replace, developing their own OS

Update me within 24 months of this transition actually happening.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Any move away from Windows is a good one. The desktop is the final Microsoft slave plantation and it must be abolished.

Slave plantation...
If your comments are the art, you get $0.

 

[trparky]

If you want standardization, use Windows or MacOS. Linux was built on individual choice, that is why there are multiple options for everything. Trying to enforce a "standard" will only result in yet another option that nobody uses.

It's always funny when non linux users do this though. Stop being a tourist and learn why people adopt linux over "standardized" corpo slop.

Well then how do you expect Linux to kill Microsoft stone f**king dead? ANSWER THAT DAMN QUESTION!!!

Because that's what I want to happen!!! I want Microsoft dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!!

Microsoft is shitty company run by a f**king @sshole of a CEO that couldn't read the goddamned room even if someone tore his damn eyes open and forced him to look around. He has a bunch of sycophants surrounding him saying "MORE AI!" all while Windows, the thing that world economies are built on, continues to become an even more shitty piece of s**t.

This is a company that deserves to die already and yet nobody is bringing about it. Linux could have very well delivered the killing blow and saved us all from this scourge but nooooo....

 

[trparky]

Anyway... rant over.

With all of that said in my previous post... @Theinsanegamer, how did you expect Microsoft gained the market power that it had? Standardization and market domination, that's how!

Linux needs to fight fire with fire. Linux is so absolutely bloody close to being able to kill Microsoft stone dead, it's never been closer than right now. All they need to do is just take the final step, the one final unified choice and then... Windows is dead and the world would all be better for it.

 

[Loadedaxe]

@trparky I think you're hitting the real issue here.

Linux has never really had a technology problem. It has had a coordination problem.

The freedom to fork something, replace something, reinvent something, or build your own version is one of Linux's greatest strengths. It is also one of the reasons desktop Linux has spent decades circling the runway instead of taking off.

Package managers, desktop environments, display servers, installers, configuration tools, software distribution...there is almost always another choice, another fork, another "better way."

That's fantastic for enthusiasts.

It isn't fantastic when you're trying to convince a government, corporation, school system, or 50 million ordinary people to replace Windows.

Those people don't want to research whether they should use KDE or GNOME, Flatpak or Snap, Wayland or X11, apt, dnf, pacman, Nix, or whatever arrives next Tuesday. They want to turn on the computer, open their software, print something, join a meeting and go home.

And that's where projects like this could become important.

If several governments start deploying Linux at serious scale, they're eventually going to demand standards...predictable updates, long term support, common management tools, consistent desktop behavior, application certification, security baselines and hardware compatibility.

In other words, exactly the boring stuff necessary to make an operating system mainstream.

Microsoft understood that decades ago. Apple understands it. You can criticize both companies for plenty, but when someone buys a Windows PC or a Mac, they aren't being handed 14 different philosophies about how a desktop computer ought to work.

Windows 8 really was Linux's giant flashing opportunity. Microsoft practically gift-wrapped millions of irritated users, put a bow on them and left them sitting on Linux's doorstep.

And Linux answered...

"Excellent. Which one of our 400 distributions would you like?"

I don't think Microsoft is disappearing anytime soon, but if Linux ever seriously threatens Windows on the desktop, I suspect it won't happen because somebody created distro number 401.

It'll happen because enough large organizations finally say...This is the platform. These are the standards. Build around them.

Ironically, Linux may need a little less freedom of choice at the surface level to give users considerably more freedom underneath it.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Well then how do you expect Linux to kill Microsoft stone f**king dead? ANSWER THAT DAMN QUESTION!!!

Because that's what I want to happen!!! I want Microsoft dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!!

Microsoft is shitty company run by a f**king @sshole of a CEO that couldn't read the goddamned room even if someone tore his damn eyes open and forced him to look around. He has a bunch of sycophants surrounding him saying "MORE AI!" all while Windows, the thing that world economies are built on, continues to become an even more shitty piece of s**t.

This is a company that deserves to die already and yet nobody is bringing about it. Linux could have very well delivered the killing blow and saved us all from this scourge but nooooo....

We have a 5150 moment here.

Anyway... rant over.

With all of that said in my previous post... @Theinsanegamer, how did you expect Microsoft gained the market power that it had? Standardization and market domination, that's how!

Linux needs to fight fire with fire. Linux is so absolutely bloody close to being able to kill Microsoft stone dead, it's never been closer than right now. All they need to do is just take the final step, the one final unified choice and then... Windows is dead and the world would all be better for it.

If you want Unix with standardization enforced, you have MacOS. Go buy a Mac and use it.

If your response to that is that you don't like parts of macOS or want different functions or more freedom.....congratulations you just demonstrated why Linux doesn't have enforced standardization and never will.

Thanks for playing. You have now learned of the wisdom of "having your cake and eating it too".

 

[trparky]

Sounds to me like you and I have very different goals for the future of computing. I want Microsoft dead. I see only one way of making that a possibility.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

Because that's what I want to happen!!! I want Microsoft dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!!

This mindset is already 30+ years old.

 

[trparky]

This mindset is already 30+ years old.

So? That doesn’t at all take away from the fact that computing in general would be a whole lot better off today if Microsoft didn’t exist.

Sure, Microsoft may have done some great stuff in the past, but that’s the past. Today? Microsoft is a plague upon us all.

 

[GABulldog]

Round 1,225 of the Microsoft vs. Linux battle continues. Microsoft has done a lot of shady practices over the years to hold onto their market dominance. The last big debacle from Microsoft was making Windows 11 incompatible with older machines. From data collection, forced AI slop, Ads, requiring a Microsoft account, people are tired of it and want other options. Years ago Linux wouldn't even be on the average person's radar. Years later, Linux has matured to where even your average computer user can use. Linux uses less space and less system resources. The Linux UI looks and acts similar to Windows. The biggest thing is you can maintain some level of privacy. To say there is a lot of programs that don't run on Linux, that is changing very fast. You have Linux programs that are similar to Windows programs but when you include wine and proton it's in the bag.