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EU IDA Study On OSS
Werner writes ""European Commission Interchange of Data between Administration" (EU IDA) study on the use of open source software in the European public sector - you can
get it in PDF or DOC."
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Why not just simple .txt or html?
The link leads to an empty page... Could anybody post a mirror?
The site requires JavaScript enabled. If it is not enabled it says that you should be running with Frames enabled. (D'oh!)
This URL (http://ag.idaprog.org/Indis35prod/doc/333) seems to have the fundamental page.
Those who do not learn from Dilbert are doomed to repeat it.
Being an OSS fan, after this I was happy enough to find a decent list of "possible reasons" to use OSS in public sectors nevertheless, most notably they found out about Security and Privacy, which they even seperated from another bonus, Freedom. Did RMS write this report? I think it is definitely worth reading!
This sig is stolen from someone who had a much better idea than I had.
Vey interesting set of arguments from one of the pdfs. A very interesting political argument for the use of OSS. In interviews most IT managers expressed worries over a dominant vendor rleationship with Microsoft and expressed a desire for alternatives from independent private vendors. Doesn't this have relevancy to the Microsoft lawsuits, especially when you consider this was published by the European Commission. Perhaps the technology directorate and the competition directorate can agree on this and launch an action with the European Court.
-- My GOD man, GET SOME PRIORITIES! --
EKACTLY! WELL SPOKEN!
I heave been sittin in front of the tv all week! Not even went to works!11
Important things first
NATIONAL DISASTER TAKES PRIORITY!
-1 Tasteless
Thank you. FINALLY somebody else gets it. You are an asset to the American people, sir. Please continue watching the news coverage and don't put a drain on public resources by going to work.
I am proud to call myself an Ameri...oh wait, well actually I'm not American, nor am I living in America. But you know, I can't resist a good troll.
The site seems down?
This from the first pdf: "the word 'free' in free software is used as in 'free speech' and not as in 'free beer'" Wow, I never though an EU document would include the phrase free beer.
In times where the IT idustry have financial problems that socialist BS is spreading this way...
So the EU IDA on OSS in PDF and DOC includes the FSFs GNU and BSD UNIX but not MSFT, MS-DOS or otherwise, because of the actions by the US DOJ over MSIE, even though they FUBARed the whole thing because of W.
HTH.
Liberty in your lifetime
Nay. After all, Software and IT is meant to help the REAL business to advance. Bringing services to everyone and making communication, billing and other stuff more effective. The less money you have to invest in IT the better.
:-)
And i would say the open collaborative (and competetive!) free software movement offers a great way of accomplishing this. At least in many areas, especially Operating Systems and Word processors. Just come up with a good scheme to pay folks for writing free software and almost everybody except a few like MS and Oracle will benefit. You may not get exorbitant salaries anymore
But stil...there's nothing wrong with fanatism as long as you don't force your fanatism on other people. But indeed they're a bit weird. For example: " The Free Software Foundation follows the rule that we cannot install any proprietary program on our computers except temporarily for the specific purpose of writing a free replacement for that very program. Aside from that, we feel there is no possible excuse for installing a proprietary program."
0x or or snor perron?!
Please find out what Netcraft says about ag.idaprog.org ...
Since the side seems dead at the moment, lets talk about something else... Several people pointed out that .doc and .pdf are not open source format. Remember, while the .pdf format is well documented it is not open to change.
;-)
So why is there no open alternative to PDF? How come no one is using Postscript directly outside of printer-related tasks? PDF is good but there could be potential problems in the future, think GIF here.
Not to be a troll but if Microsoft comes up with some new portable document "standard", someone will work on an alternative before they release the damn thing...
To bring this back in topic, this sounds like a pretty good OSS idea. Right? Maybe EU should look at some XML-based portable document format with special "clues" for language translation since their members are from so many different countries with their own written languages. (hehe, nice save?
Codeala - Just another mindless drone
This is probably even more off-topic, but bear with me:
Just managed to get the company to buy a Mac. This is for a 700 employee MS-purity site (MS everything bar HP-UX boxes for Oracle). Have to say the experience made me go "ohh" in a quiet little voice of stunned amazement. Incredible combination of Linux/*BSD internals with a glorious user interface, and the whole thing reeking of design and quality.
However the relevant bit about all this was the rather groovy way the desktop is displayed, with all the natty minimise / maximise animations. Apparently this is all done on a PDF variant called Quartz. Seemed pretty good to me.
We've already been hearing from AtheOS not using X. Perhaps (and this is where I come marginally more on-topic) there's some mileage in merging the current efforts on xPDF, or some open alternative, the great work on Quartz from the Apple fellows, and binning the antiquated X interface. You could allow for all sorts of more up-to-date features a la Citrix's ICA, e.g. encryption, compression and the like, plus allowing better app serving in the ASP model.
Aegilops
help me wat is tish linex u speak of? i tried instalign it i think n now nothign works rite... i get this blakc screen with a # on it n nothign else u c. everythign is brokened :( were is my start menu n my aol icons??????? i hope all my porn and mp3s are stil safe in my documnets folder......
Ghostscript can read PDFs. You'll need a viewer to view the output. Follow the relevant links!
I wouldn't trust that one...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Bear that in mind before getting worked up.
(to moderator - i know this is OT - please indulge me)
/. moderator who failed to see the joke and gave it a 0 rating.
I don't know which is funnier - the previous reply's lampooning of a windows user trying to use Linux, or the
-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...
Here's a mirror of the PDF documents:
:)
http://www.informatik.umu.se/~meson/oss-eu/
Please use the main site if possible. Don't know if the sysadmin likes this mirror
I prefer not to hear about american patriotism, blind accusations, ignorance and hate 24/7 but do better things with my spare time. Unless you would make a different (and I really doubt it) by yapping about it I suggest you do the same.
Unfortunately these documents don't seem to present a balanced picture. The bias stands out so much that they are effectively useless to me to advocate Linux in organisations who I think would have value in considering it.
:-(
Yet again, it is a case of advocacy blinding sense.
1. The OSS Fact sheet
2. The report on OSS usage and experience made
3. The report on market structure and issues related to public procurement
Annex. OSS alphabetical list and software identification
1. The OSS Fact sheet
2. The report on OSS usage and experience made
3. The report on market structure and issues related to public procurement
Annex. OSS alphabetical list and software identification
http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ida/?http&&&ag.idaprog.o rg/Indis35prod/doc/333
Much depends on how you define ``better.'' If ``better'' is stuffing Microsoft's coffers to the bursting point and extending their reach, then things are in a bad way and getting worse. If OTOH ``better'' means you don't need to swap an arm, a leg and all of your privacy for infrastructure and basic tools, then the millennium is finally arriving.
Using your own reasoning, making every street a toll road and charging people to breathe must be good for business and therefore for the world.
Personally, I feel that any sane review of history will find that what is good for big business is almost universally bad for everyone else, notably including individuals, government, the environment and poorer countries. Businesses should exist to fill a need, not to create a need.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
TLA city, or are you just in love with your shift key? (-:
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
there actually has been a wide debate here in Finland if public sector in small communities should switch from Windows to Linux because of the high cost of M$ products. Sadly M$ seems to win this fight - People are just too used to use M$ products. Sad indeed...
-Jaakko
yeah yeah, they didn't publish in an open-spec
;)
i'm Applixware user (currently anyway -- i don't like staroffice's desktop metaphor, i want my dox floating in their own icons as first class apps)
.RTF, while originally from Microsoft provides a decent interchange format
but XML is it baby for interchange in the future
that and it GZip's so nice with all that PHAT text in there
Old age and treachery almost always overcome youth and skill.
This is a link to Microsoft's Partnership Profile on Unisys' web site.
Your reality is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever. - Baron Munchausen
This would seem to bring to evidence the American "Bigger Dick" forign policy in practice as pointed out by George Carlin.
If it's there, we'll fuck it.
If we can't fuck it, we'll kill it.
If we can't kill it, we'll blow it up.
Terrorists can also use felt markers to write plans on toilet paper, I nominate you to be the first to protest their public dissemination by boycotting these goods.
Get a life.
If EU has something, is atleast, the power to imposse new rules on others member states.
And if they are really interested on the usage of OSS they should pass a rule specifying the presence of at least 50% of *NIX machines in EU schools.
As a second rule they should invest more money on research and development of this kind of software.
For sure, those measures will cease all problems with American ECHELON systems's alikes, in a near future.
The other points I can agree with, but how are these points any different from closed source software? For point one, if you haven't already, pick any proprietary software license agreement, read it and weep. For point two, what kind of guarantees do you have with proprietary software? With Free software, you at least have the option of continuing a project yourself if it stalls. Granted, everybody can't do that, but with a discontinued closed source product you are fucked.
Cheers //Johan
Installed the Bubblemon yet?
Oh jeetje. Dit is een test die minpunten moet krijgen.
my other sig is a 500 page novel
Since the bugfixes were only produced for the newest software, which you must then buy in order to have the bugfix. Oh, er, oops, you have to buy a new OS to run that, and oops again, you have to buy new hardware to run the new OS.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
Absolutely. The difference is, we're not charged for every individual use of the road, which is the problem being originally addressed. One of the reasons that every street and footpath isn't tolled is the riot that would ensue when people couldn't visit their neighbours for free any more.
But there's another difference, too. Your proposed methodology would eventually tax tracks through the scrub, walking along the beach, probably even swimming. There would be no ad-hoc route formation without it first being assessed and dutied.
Outlook creates a need for virus scanners. IIS creates a need for intelligent firewalling or reverse-proxying. Word creates a need for document decoders and extra backup technology.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing