Linux is no longer an experiment

I keep seeing signs that the move towards Linux and open source is becoming something different from what it used to be.

Less ideological. Less experimental. More practical.

The latest one comes from Switzerland.

The Federal Chancellery has completed a proof of concept for an open-source workplace and is now moving to a much larger pilot. From the end of 2027, around 3,000 federal employees are expected to have access to it, covering email, calendars, documents, presentations, file storage, chat and video conferencing.

I find that interesting because I made my own move a few years ago.

I switched to LMDE 6 and never looked back.

I expected some friction. Maybe a few applications I would miss, or some recurring reason to keep Windows around. Instead, Linux quickly became normal. It works, stays quietly out of the way, and gives me far more control over the system I use every day.

I couldn’t be happier with the move.

What is changing now is not Linux itself so much as the context around it. Governments and large organisations are starting to treat open source as a serious operational choice rather than an interesting alternative.

The old image of Linux as something mainly for enthusiasts has been fading for a while. A project involving 3,000 federal employees makes that image look outdated.

For me, the experiment ended years ago. It just became the normal way of using my personal computer.