South Korea moves from Windows to Linux

In an effort to prepare for Windows 7's End of Life early next year, South Korea has revealed that all of its government computers will soon make the switch from Windows to Linux.

The official Windows 7 End of Life is set for January, 14 2020 and Microsoft has said that it will provide support for up to three years after that date though companies will need to pay.

However, for governments such as South Korea which depend on Windows 7, the cost of extended support could quickly become too high to manage. For example, support for Windows Enterprise users using Windows 7 for the first year after the End of Life date will cost $25 per device. This price rises to $50 per device for year two and $100 for year three.

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Windows 10's extreme telemetry also poses another problem as system information is sent back to Microsoft which could be a security risk for South Korea's government.

Switching to Linux

According to The Korea Herald, the South Korean government will switch from Windows 7 to a Linux-based operating system though the country has not yet revealed which Linux distribution will be used.

South Korea will likely test out various Linux distributions before setting on just one before next January.

The country's Interior Ministry expects the transition to Linux to be quite costly and the purchase of new PCs are expected to cost the government $655m.

The ministry's digital service bureau chief Choi Jang-hyuk said the ministry expects cost reductions by introducing an open-source OS while also avoiding have to rely on a single operating system.