Astronauts Switch from Windows to Linux

At the International Space Station

For reasons involving reliability — which is semi-kinda important in low-Earth orbit, apparently — our fellow nerds living aboard the International Space Station have made the switch from Windows to Linux for astronauts' laptops.

The space nerds will get training from the Linux Foundation for the upgrade to Debian 6. The foundation has actually customized two courses specifically for NASA astronauts' needs, including a basic Linux user course and more advanced coursework on how to develop applications for Linux.

Previously, the laptops aboard the ISS had been running Windows XP.