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Time to turn open-source words into action
,----[ Quote ]
| Since early 2004, it has been the
| government's stated policy to use open-
| source software in the public sector
| wherever possible, as long as it offers the
| best value for money.
|
| To date, the policy has had little impact.
| So will the latest tweaks to its open-
| source action plan make a difference?
|
| Software is "open-source" when the source
| code is freely available to be viewed,
| shared or changed -- things that you can't
| do with conventional proprietary software.
| Crucially, open-source is also the cheaper
| option in many cases.
`----
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/02/open-source-linux
Letting the cat out of the bag
,----[ Quote ]
| When I blogged about the UK government's
| open source initiative (or rather the lack
| of it) a couple of weeks ago. It was
| obvious to me - and to many of the people
| in the open source community that the
| government wasn't exactly pulling out all
| the stops in its attempts to cut waste in
| the tendering process.
|
| [...]
|
| So, the open source commentators who say
| that the government has not been
| enthusiastic about pursuing are completely
| missing the point. It's not about inertia;
| it's not about the influence of proprietary
| software companies; it's not about the
| perceived lack of maturity of open source
| companies - it's simply that those newer
| competitors aren't expensive enough. Those
| pitches proving cost savings have been
| going down the wrong path - it's as if they
| were setting off to play golf and keeping
| under par the whole way round, only to be
| told at the end of the game that the object
| was to take as many shots as possible.
`----
http://blogs.techworld.com/the-blue-screen/2010/02/letting-the-cat-out-of-the-bag/
Open Source Toryism
,----[ Quote ]
| Finally, Cameron had a populist swipe at
| lobbyists. Which is fine. No-one likes
| lobbyists. But Cameron's attitude towards
| lobbying is instructive, for it
| demonstrates the extent to which, despite
| his rhetoric, he remains a centraliser. The
| problem with lobbying is a "lack of
| transparency" and so he'll also slow down
| the revolving door, making it harder to
| ministers to move seamlessly into lobbying.
| Which is also fine but no more than
| tackling a symptom while ignoring the cause
| of the disease. Which is, silly,
| government.
`----
http://www.spectator.co.uk/alexmassie/5762886/open-source-toryism.thtml
Cameron pledges to publish contracts in full
,----[ Quote ]
| "No ICT project will be commissioned
| without first seeing if it can be done for
| free or at very low cost. We will set open
| standards to encourage interoperability
| between ICT systems and open up ICT
| procurement to more companies by creating a
| level playing field for open source
| software throughout government."
`----
http://www.ukauthority.com/Headlines/tabid/36/NewsArticle/tabid/64/Default.aspx?id=2708
Q&A: Red Hat's Werner Knoblich on UK open source
,----[ Quote ]
| Vice president and general manager of Red
| Hat in EMEA Werner Knoblich talks about how
| open source is going down in the UK and
| what 2010 has in store.
`----
http://www.itpro.co.uk/620503/q-a-red-hats-werner-knoblich-on-uk-open-source
ICT & Education: Eleven Countries to Watch -- and Learn From
,----[ Quote ]
| With a population of over 31 million, the
| Indian state of Kerala -- home to the
| IT@school initiative -- has more people
| than all but two of the countries listed
| here. IT@school, which provides ICT-enabled
| education to 1.6 million students per year
| in the state, is considered by some to be
| the largest educational program of its kind
| utilizing primarily free and open source
| software.
`----
http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/countries-to-watch-and-learn-from
Recent:
Government Plugs Microsoft With Online Training Course
,----[ Quote ]
| The government is promoting Microsoft's
| proprietary software as part of a plan to get
| more UK adults online, despite arguing for
| greater adoption of open source in the past
|
| [...]
|
| Some open source supporters may object to
| elements of the new scheme however as, although
| the Online Basics course is supposed to be an
| independent education project, the site contains
| a link to Microsoft's own learning network â
| Microsoft Digital Literacy â which includes
| guidance on how to use Microsoft products. In
| February 2009, the UK government said it
| intended to use open source to save Â600 million
| a year and published guidelines the that effect
| but, despite this, the UK lags badly at open
| source, using it less than countries like Mali,
| open source activists said at a meeting in
| September.
`----
http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/government-plugs-microsoft-with-online-training-course-2995
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