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Letter to the Editor: Free Software Means 'Freedom'
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| As the founder of the free software movement and author of the GNU General
| Public License, I am writing to correct a misleading characterisation of free
| software presented in William Venema's article about open source. National
| Law Journal, Oct. 20.
|
| I do not wish to defend open source, which I have never supported. I disagree
| with its choice of basic values, which exclude freedom and social solidarity,
| the values with which the free software movement is most concerned. (When the
| open source camp split off from the free software movement in 1998, its
| purpose was none other than to downplay this ethical level.) Rather, I wish
| to set the record straight about free software.
`----
http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1202426086918
Recent:
Public Procurement and FOSS
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| Given the scale of the disadvantage already present, why would any player
| want to make their position worse? In the report of the interview the
| Commission representative says: "There are sufficient ways for companies and
| other organisations to protect their rights." He may be right, but they
| aren't being used by the FOSS community and the reason is that the abuse is
| too extensive for anyone to want to make the first move.
|
| I'm delighted by the fact the new procurement guidelines exist, but
| personally I want to see direct action to establish them - it can't be left
| up to those already disadvantaged. I wonder if anyone has the stomach for it?
`----
http://blogs.sun.com/webmink/entry/public_procurement_and_foss
Many software tenders in EU maybe 'illegal'
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| Software tenders by European public administration often may not comply with
| EU regulations, illegally favouring proprietary applications. "These tenders
| could be protested against, and if necessary the tendering organisations
| could be taken to court", said Karel De Vriendt, head of the IDABC unit
| responsible for the Open Source Software Observatory and Repository
| (osor.eu).
`----
http://www.osor.eu/news/many-software-tenders-in-eu-illegal
Hidden cost of proprietary standards may lead to illegal tenders
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| The hidden exit costs imposed by a previous software acquisition are a major
| reason for public administrations to tender software by naming brand names or
| specific products, which may be illegal, says a draft report by the European
| Commission's Open Source Observatory and Repository project (OSOR).
`----
http://www.osor.eu/news/hidden-cost-of-proprietary-standards-may-lead-to-illegal-tenders
Procurement and Open Source Software (2008) - draft version
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| With the launch of the OSOR, it is natural for public administrations to want
| to try to use open source software, starting with the software that will be
| published on the OSOR.
`----
http://www.osor.eu/expert-studies/guidelines-for-public-administrations-on-procurement-and-open-source-software-2008-draft-version
Quebec government sued for buying Microsoft software
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| Quebec's open-source software association is suing the provincial government,
| saying it is giving preferential treatment to Microsoft Corp. by buying the
| company's products rather than using free alternatives.
|
| The lawsuit by Facil was lodged with the Quebec Superior Court on July 15 and
| made public on Wednesday. In it, the group says the provincial government has
| refused to entertain competing bids from all software providers, opting
| instead to supply public-sector departments with products bought from
| proprietary vendors such as Microsoft and Oracle Corp.
`----
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/08/27/tech-quebec.html
The Tragedy of the Anti-Commons
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| Misapplication of “value for money” requirements when purchasing software
| results in poor value for money - Government purchasing policies for software
| tend to support the creation of monopolies.
|
| Government purchasing has effects on the price paid by citizens for the
| product purchased. In some cases purchasing produces volume which permits
| scale discounts and therefore a net benefit to citizens who also purchase the
| product. However, in the case of lock in software* Government purchasing can
| create a monopoly in the software which leads to increased costs for citizen
| purchasers and a net detriment for society as a whole. It is not appropriate
| for value for money policies to be assessed on a per acquisition basis when
| software is being acquired. Doing so will almost certainly create net costs
| for the community when considered in the aggregate.
|
| [...]
|
| Government procurement can both create and reinforce a monopoly in goods and
| services which it is acquiring. Anecdotal evidence suggests that bureaucrats
| look at “value for money” type formulae and assess it against the cost to
| Government on a purchase-by-purchase basis. This approach is fine in respect
| of goods and services which are easily substitutable (such as hammers,
| screws, cars etc). In respect of goods which are specifically designed to
| prevent substitutability - eg devices which are not designed to be
| interoperable it is an extremely hazardous approach. If those goods also tend
| to be a natural monopoly (such as software in general, but particularly that
| which is designed not to be interoperable) this approach is absolutely the
| wrong one.
`----
http://brendanscott.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/tradegy-of-the-anti-commons/
Interview with NOiV's Maarten Wijnen-Meijer on Study on Gov't Acquisition of OS
Software - Pick Your Brains
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| A Dutch study has recently been translated and published in English, "The
| acquisition of (open-source) software", by Nederland Open in Verbinding
| (NOiV), which finds that in Europe, gratis software does not require
| tendering and so gratis Open Source software can be freely downloaded without
| having to go through the usual purchase process. If service is required, that
| service would, however, require going through the normal purchasing process,
| but as a separate matter.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080420111512402
NL: Use of Open Source software requires no European IT tenders
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| European public administrations that want to use software that is offered for
| free, such as Open Source software, do not need to organise a call for
| tender.
|
| [...]
|
| According to Wijnen-Meijer the translation is well-received. "At a recent
| Open Source conference in the US, copies were picked up quickly by companies.
| We also have had requests from cities and ministries in Germany and Greece."
`----
http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7549
Related:
My Visit to Sun
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| Phipps went on to say that one of the main reasons prospects and customers
| are uncomfortable with this open source approach is that it fails to align
| with their expectations of how software is obtained. They're so accustomed to
| the bid/procurement process accompanied by the stereotypical sales rep
| proffering half-truths about the product that they literally feel anxious
| when offered the gift of free software. Furthermore, they're so used to an
| adversarial relationship with sales reps that they are bewildered about how
| to respond to a sales approach that is more collaborative and focused on user
| satisfaction, which is, of course, a prerequisite when what you sell is
| support.
`----
http://advice.cio.com/bernard_golden/my_visit_to_sun
UK Government: Closed Minds on Open Source
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| To its eternal shame, the UK Government uses far less open source than most.
| Worse, it seems to have a closed mind to the whole idea. That's evident in
| the guidelines that have been released to aid in the interpretation of
| amendments to Computer Misuse Act (CMA) of 1990 with respect to “unauthorised
| access to computer material” (aka cracking)...
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?RSS&entryid=329
The UK has wasted over $4 billion on failed IT projects since 2000
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| The Guardian is reporting that the United Kingdom government has flushed over
| £2 billion (More than US$4 billion) since 2000 on failed IT projects. IT
| projects fail.
|
| [...]
|
| And imagine if before the UK government went into these projects if it's cost
| of failure was hugely mitigated upfront by zero licensing costs and the
| chance to fully evaluate technology before adopting it.
|
| It's called open source. Heard of it?
`----
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9840497-16.html
Lawmaker blasts U.K. government on Microsoft policy
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| "A member of Parliament of the United Kingdom has launched a stinging
| attack on the U.K. government's IT strategy, saying that it has given
| Microsoft too much control.
|
| John Pugh, who is a member of Parliament, or MP, for Southport and a
| member of the Public Accounts Committee, was speaking in an
| adjournment debate on Tuesday that he had called. The aim of the
| debate, he said, was to explore the alternatives to using Microsoft
| software, including open source."
`----
http://www.news.com/Lawmaker-blasts-U.K.-government-on-Microsoft-policy/2100-1012_3-6212721.html
Open-source evolves from 'nerdy' to notable
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| Last January, Host Europe, a company that runs the Web sites for 120,000
| businesses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, secured an unlikely supplier
| for the open-source software it uses to run almost all of its computer
| servers.
|
| [...]
|
| "I think that the adoption of open source has been much greater in some
| of the Continental markets and in the United States," said Mark Brier,
| an open-source technician at the National Computing Center in
| Manchester, England, a nonprofit group that advises government
| on computer purchases. "Here there is no large-scale adoption."
|
| Scott Thompson, the executive director of OpenAdvantage, a
| nonprofit group in Birmingham, England, that promotes open-source
| software among businesses in the West Midlands region, said the
| spread has been limited by outmoded government procurement rules
| that favor larger, established proprietary vendors, government
| outsourcing of technology operations to companies with relationships
| to proprietary vendors, and the well-funded defense of proprietary
| software makers.
`----
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/03/technology/source02.php
Bundestag: "Open-source strategy is not in jeopardy"
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| In April the Linux Association had smelt a rat with regard to the
| exchange tests and sharply criticized the manner in which the
| administration of the Bundestag awards contracts. We cannot "help
| suspecting that with the help of the Council of Elders the IT
| strategy of the administration of the Bundestag is being manipulated
| in a manner that excludes the technical departments," the association
| had declared at the time. A spokesman of the administration had replied
| that all procurement acts relating to the pilot project had taken place
| in conformity with the rules laid down for the awarding of
| contracts.
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/91844/from/rss09
Feds revise IT procurement model
,----[ Quote ]
| The federal government has launched version two of the SourceIT
| model contracts and user notes aimed at simplifying procurement of
| information technology 12 months after the first version.
`----
http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php?id=805606582&rid=-50
Governments slammed for anti-competitive software tendering practices
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| A leading Australian open source advocate has called for an end for to
| tender lock-outs of competitors to Microsoft, claiming the practice
| is costing Australian taxpayers tens of millions of dollars each
| year.
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/11496/53/
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