As a German I want to formally apologize for Bavaria. Not for anything in specific, just in general.
That's ok, North Germans think Bavarians are strange. But the Ossies ...
Didn't Microsoft officially state to the EU any information stored on their servers is subject to US government access upon request because they are an American company?
Microsoft Can't Keep EU Data Safe from US Authorities
In the meanwhile...Portugal just appointed its former top Microsoft Portugal executive, Manuel Dias, as the new “State CTO.”
It’s another reminder of how deeply Redmond has embedded itself into government IT. Ever since Bill Gates cozy meetings with José Sócrates, one of Portugal’s most notoriously corrupt prime ministers, Microsoft has maintained confidential contacts and influence over national tech strategy.
The result? A state increasingly dependent on substandard, closed software. sold through world-class lobbying.
I mean it was more of the us government passings law, but yes that’s true.
Don't think that European politicians are not corrupt. Who is going to pay a politician to use open source or local services from a small company? Who is paying politicians to use Microsoft?
When a decision makes no economic, legal, nor security sense just follow the money.
I can never find it again but there was a topic on HN a few months ago about exactly this - some government entity switched away from Microsoft, and then got a bunch of bribes and switched back. And there was discussion about how this is very normal and everyone sees this happening in their organisation too.
This is how Germany pushing towards digital sovereignty.
They were oss until Microsoft put their german corp headquarter in the state... Bayern usually swings with money that's also why telecom is building their new datacenter there. Subsidize - pay more by switching state systems - get political donations.
Microsoft's Germany headquarter moved from Unterschleißheim (near Munich, still Landkreis München, opened 1983) to Schwabing (suburb of Munich) last year. Did you mean that moving closer to the city, about 10km, was a reason?
I think they just confused bavria with munich. It was the city who had their own linux distribution (LiMux) and the move of the headquarters where part of microsoft efforts to change that, because it means more tax income for the city (Munich is not part of the disctrict Landkreis München).
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Microsoft has been strong in Bavaria since Ballmer visited them to sell them Office after his vacation in Switzerland in the 2000s.
Bavaria should be called Ballmvaria or Microsovaria.
What happened with the International Criminal Court should be an object lesson. The chief prosecutor of the ICC has been locked out of his email and documents for months. Microsoft had to lock him out after the Trump administration retaliated for the court's investigation into Israel's Gaza genocide.
It is incredibly irresponsible for any international jurisdiction or civil organization to be increasing its dependence on American technology. It's a question of sovereign risk.
https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-international-criminal-cou...
German government is an ally and accomplice to Israel, so they don't care about consequences to those who are seeking actions against it.
They might even be supportive of such retaliatory actions the same way how they support Antifa beating up anti-government or anti-immigration protesters.
You know that saying "for my friends everything, for my enemies the law".
So, looking towards the German government as a beacon of objective morality would be a mistake. They're just as corrupt and hypocritical as the rest.
Nostradamus predicts headline in 10 months. State of Bavaria deeply irritated by Microsoft’s shenanigans, drops Microsoft cloud in favor of literally any other solution.