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Sporkman
March 27th, 2009, 04:57 PM
An Open-Source Presidency

John Dragoon, 03.27.09, 06:00 AM EDT

The U.S government can save billions and foster innovation if it deploys open-source software.
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John Dragoon

President Obama has been praised and vilified for exploring the use of open-source technology. Yet touting open-source software use in the public sector is nothing new. The U.S. actually lags behind the governments of the Netherlands, Brazil and others that have effectively mandated open source over proprietary software in civil and federal government. The U.K. recently moved to favor open-source adoption while the European Commission has recommended the adoption of open source across all European Union member countries.

But the U.S. government's cautious approach to open-source software is certainly about to change, driven by the vast amount of money at stake...

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/26/open-source-software-technology-cio-network-software.html?feed=rss_technology

Ms_Angel_D
March 27th, 2009, 05:12 PM
Don't mandate open source. Open source isn't the solution for every problem and should compete on its own merits with proprietary solutions. Don't follow the lead of foreign governments--mandates are counterproductive.

I think this is a Key Point in the article.

Sealbhach
March 27th, 2009, 05:16 PM
But the U.S. government's cautious approach to open-source software is certainly about to change, driven by the vast amount of money at stake.

When I saw this I was expecting to read about some major announcement further down the page. Oh Internets, what a cruel tease you are.:(


.

Sporkman
March 27th, 2009, 06:05 PM
When I saw this I was expecting to read about some major announcement further down the page. Oh Internets, what a cruel tease you are.:(


.

It's a series of tubes.

LowSky
March 27th, 2009, 06:37 PM
oh noes im making this political...

Open-Source = Socialism
At least that is what a bunch of people will argue.

Personally here is the main reason Open-source has not been taken seriously by many governemt and businesses.
Opensource has its code redily availible, which some think mean it could be easily hack or exploited, and could ruin the sercrete organization need to keep.
With software from groups like Microsoft and the like, you know who is doing hte developement and who is supporting the software. With open-source they do not always get that info. for instance if an agency needed a piece of software that doens't exist, and needs it written, why would a company or person want to make money on the licensing especially to oter groups.