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Massachusetts Adopts Open Standards Strategy
prostoalex writes "The state of Massachusetts at a meeting of state information officers adopted a broad-based strategy to move to open standards. The strategy does involve Linux among other open standard solutions, while moving away from Microsoft-based platforms is one of the decisions. State Administration and Finance Secretary Eric Kriss insisted that decision was made on technical grounds and had nothing to do with antitrust investigation of Microsoft by the state of Massachusetts."
Until Eric Kriss is fired for revealing this revolutionary decision?
massachusetts = bed-wetting liberals
open source = hand-wringing liberals
massachusetts + open source = ass-blasting good times
BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts, the lone holdout state still suing Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) for antitrust violations, will become the first state to adopt a broad-based strategy of moving its computer systems toward open standards, including Linux, the rival operating system to Microsoft's Windows.
State Administration and Finance Secretary Eric Kriss said Thursday that the decision, adopted at a meeting of state information officers, was made on "technical grounds" and had nothing to do with Attorney General Thomas Reilly's pursuit of Microsoft.
In the technology industry, the term "open standards" refers to nonproprietary software. Microsoft's software is considered "closed" because application developers and other programmers don't have free access to the blueprints.
Kriss said the state's decision was driven by a desire to reduce licensing fees but also "by a philosophy that what the state has is a public good and should be open to all," Kriss told The Associated Press. He characterized the decision as the "most visible concrete action by a state government" to move toward open standards.
A Microsoft spokesman had no immediate comment.
Microsoft is facing increasing challenges from Linux, which has been developed over the past decade by a global community of programmers who share their work on the condition that it be redistributed freely. It has become appealing to cost-conscious companies looking for an inexpensive means to run their servers.
Government agencies from Germany to France to Peru have adopted or are considering Linux-based software as a cheaper alternative to Microsoft products.
Aren't they one of the highest taxed States in the Union? And they are complaining about costs? If anyone should be able to afford Microsoft fees, it would be Mass. Maybe they don't like the competition -- that MS tax and all.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
From the article: Microsoft's software is considered "closed" because application developers and other programmers don't have free access to the blueprints. Microsoft blueprint: 1. Make money! I don't think I've ever seen source code/standards called that before...
Interesting that the article focuses on the "cost" issue of Linux while skirting the inherent problems with soverenty and transparency that proprietary software poses to governmental institutions.
I have really been thinking about getting much more involved in linux (and BSD, etc.) consulting lately, but there hasn't (isn't?) a huge demand in my area. People are generally more concerned about being able to open Word documents without a problem etc.... and feel it is worth it to them to pay the MS tax.
This comes as great news to me (not because I live in Mass.) because it is paving the road for a lot more job opportunities to open up - which in my opinion is a mutually beneficial thing for the government and the populous.
They probably are unbiased, however this couldn't have hurt. There is a reasonable amount of pressure to support Corporate America, and make a biased decision in favour of an American-made product. Antitrust certainly helps open the doors to other discussions.
That was completely unexpected...
The punchline was the clincher!
Trying to hedge their bet?
Looks good for your age..
I suppose you're right. This deserves a victory beer or ten anyway.
State Administration and Finance Secretary Eric Kriss insisted that decision was made on technical grounds...
Like the virus that got into the government systems recently and caused them all to be shut down? Then again being the state of MA, maybe they thought they could tax the virus to death before it did any harm...
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
Linux is getting good publicity now from the grass roots but the BSD people just don't care. So what we learn from this is that people only care about marketting and advertising. And Bsd will never mainstream.
Dubya knows that sending all our programming jobs to India is best for us...no wait that's only best for the shareholders who only have to pay 1/5th wages...
This is a good sign, it at least shows one state knows a good thing thats been around a while, maybe Mass can throw in some bids on the federal level for open source solutions. At least this can help open the lines of communications between the open source community and the government. Too bad they'll likely get annexed and slowly reassimilated into the states after M$ and uncle Sam explain that the'yre supporting terrorsit with their commie software....
-FryCarson; I'm not a doctor, but for $50 bucks I'll pretend.
And you posted this from the bar, I suppose? Otherwise, that would make you a...
Most government bodies have no choice but to move away from closed source, propietary standard solutions. They have an obligation to keep public records available for very long periods of time. (READ CENTURIES). Theres no way they can live with periodic knowledge meltdowns from propietary providers going under or the occasional platform shift.
Microsofts methods of locking your data to their apps will ultimately be seen as intolerable.
To rightfully be enjoyed at the 26th Amendment off of Boston Common.
stop calling us taxachusetts :)
Cyberbite Networks - Web Hosting, Dedicated Servers & Colocati
... grasp of all the issues. "In the technology industry, the term "open standards" refers to nonproprietary software." eh?
How long before a bunch of open source revolutionaries are seen dumping Windows CD's into the bay?
You know you're a geek if you've ever replied to a tagline.
The reporter unfortunately slanted the story as MS vs Linux. The state says it chose "open standards, including Linux" -- which seems to imply that it's closed standards that are taboo. If they're talking about file formats, network protocols etc. it is of course the sensible thing to do, since you're not vulnerable to losing your documents if the program is no longer supported, and you're not compelling everyone you communicate with to use exactly the same software as you do. Big difference between this and saying that they're only going to use Linux, which makes it seem as though they're retaliating against MS.
Unlimited growth == Cancer.
By using free, open standards, they are able to choose the best tool for the job, whether that be open source or closed source.
Linux is getting good publicity now from the grass roots but the BSD people just don't care.
Maybe they do care but the six of them that haven't switched to Linux yet really can't make much of a difference.
An infinite number of monkeys will eventually come up with the complete works of
No-MAH (microsoft!).
*rimshot*
Run with Scissors!
Instead, consider the antitrust investigation conducted by state officials as "The Education of the Great State of Massachussetts" in all matters of Microsoft business practices.
They have some learning under their belts, and it shows.
Even worse than Word, how about publishing stuff in Word Perfect 6.1 format?
If there is a job that an Indian programmer can do significantly cheaper than an American programmer (total cost factored in, not just wages), then PLEASE let the Indian do it and sell the product to me for less.
I am an American consumer who believes in free enterprise. If you can't produce a product at a competitive price, on the WORLD MARKET, tough crap for you.
I see no reason why I should be forced to pay higher prices for a product just so a computer programmer can keep his job. Just like I don't see any reason why we should hand out tens of thousands of dollars to farmers because they can't grow food at a cost that allows them to sell for a profit.
Agricultural subsidy, trade tarrif, import restriction, whatever you want to call it, what it REALLY is is a tax on consumers to support inefficient production. If it can be imported for less, we should import it, and spend the extra money on the stuff only Americans can do.
I'd wager money that 95% of the computer programmers and farmers and automobile assembly line workers who bitch and moan about their jobs being filled by foreigners and robots are the first people to buy the cheapest item they can at Wal Mart. Because Americans are selfish, greedy bastards - they expect everyone else to pay higher prices to support their inflated wages, but they won't pay more for products that support other American's inflated wages.
And of course, that will never work. Either everyone pays higher prices to support inflated American wages and while starving foreigners produce nothing and spend all their time contemplating how to blow up our skyscrapers, or we import what's cheaper to import and we all get more stuff for the same price. Why leave an Indian doing nothing when we can get an Indian to work for us and only pay him half of what he's producing is worth?
paintball
"In the technology industry, the term "open standards" refers to nonproprietary software. Microsoft's software is considered "closed" because application developers and other programmers don't have free access to the blueprints."
Proprietary software can also adhere to an open standard. The idea of an open standard is an open interface (file format, API, etc.) that allows sw for various vendors to interoperate. This way you don't even need to see the source to write complementary or competing sw, you just need the spec. Open standard and open source are not synonymous, although the former is a subset of the latter.
Vote for Pedro
Two fringe states on the far edges of political and social issues. The difference is that Massachusetts is small enough that we don't have to care about them in any regard -- except for the senators they send the U.S. Senate.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Anyone knows if the FSF/RMS himself has lobbied for that?
They are based in Boston, after all!
Massachusetts, the lone holdout state still suing Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) for antitrust violations, will become the first state to adopt a broad-based strategy of moving its computer systems toward open standards, including Linux, the rival operating system to Microsoft's Windows.
State Administration and Finance Secretary Eric Kriss said Thursday that the decision, adopted at a meeting of state information officers, was made on "technical grounds" and had nothing to do with Attorney General Thomas Reilly's pursuit of Microsoft.
I have come to the conclusion that this sounds good, but is ultimately worthless. I see more initiatives come down the pike in government that are totally bullshit. There is no motivation behind them, and I suspect there is no motivation behind this one. They probably were back to buying Microsoft CALs when they finished with the teleconference.
I'll pay attention when they say "we will not authorize funds to buy proprietary products". Put your money where your mouth is.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
What does your off-shore programming comment have to do with an Open Standards Strategy? Mod that one down boys... it's as off-topic as they come.
"Either everyone pays higher prices to support inflated American wages and while starving foreigners produce nothing and spend all their time contemplating how to blow up our skyscrapers, or we import what's cheaper to import and we all get more stuff for the same price."
False dichotomy. That isn't an either or situation.
"Why leave an Indian doing nothing when we can get an Indian to work for us and only pay him half of what he's producing is worth?"
Because that would mean than an American is without a job.
An American without a job is not going to be paying taxes.
An American without a job is going to be drawing money from the government in the form of unemployment benefits or welfare.
That means it takes 2 or more working Americans to make up in taxes for the one Indian you want to employ.
How many jobs has America lost since 2000?
And our country isn't recovering from the recession.
Without Americans working, Americans don't have money to buy the things that American companies have paid Indians to manufacture.
Ha, and the Boston Tea Party.
I voted for Mitt Romney.
But hey all of us who dont agree with George Bush are liberal communists who hate American and support terrorism.
So please lock me up in a camp where I belong, maybe Hitler was right.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
How do you figure we are wealthy when your hero George Bush just passed trillions in tax cuts? In response I had to vote for a Republican Mitt Romney and now we are downsizing, my tuition is higher because theres less financial aid, the schools are firing teachers by the thousands because theres no money to pay them, the police were fired by the thousands, so yeah thousands of workers are now out of a job here.
Are we wealthy? We were under Clinton, now we actually owe 20 billion dollars or so because we wasted money on the big dig, and our taxes are being lowed to attract people to our biotechnology/service based economy which is taking off.
We are the silicon valley of biotech, so we do have the best hospitals and colleges, our government is broke however.
Why are we going to use Open Source? Because Mitt Romney is a genius, he knows how to cut spending, and while I dont agree with all of his stances, hes exactly what we need at this time.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
I am glad others are noting the difference between open standards and open source. Currently there is a significant segment of businesses working in the "commoditization market" for open standards. Here are some I can think of off the top of my head:
- Red Hat Linux
- MacOS X (sort of, since it's based off BSD)
- XML based content management systems
- Microsoft Office 2003 (hehehehe... well they do support some XML output but it's not all that open either)
I believe that many organizations are still leery of implementing open source systems for fear that it's "too complicated" or there is no guarantee of service for them. Red Hat is certainly making good off of this very concept, and I'm sure many other companies are following suit.
Is this a good thing? Probably, at the very least in the short run. I'm glad there are some projects that remain pretty easy to use/install and are entirely free (i.e. Mozilla) but other technologies aren't quite there yet, and that's okay.
For example, a content management system is probably tough to make into a "simple" product. There are many open technologies to aid in building dynamic web sites but they take a significant amount of customization. Consulting companies or even 3rd party vendors of software pitch in by trying to make the process easier to take on.
(wow... this is my first post on slashdot. Hope this was ok reading for some...)
Let's cut to the root of the argument: "If it can be imported for less, we should import it, and spend the extra money on the stuff only Americans can do."I see two flaming fallacies with this POV, which are
There are techniques/products/services which only Americans can offer
There is no reason to maintain a means of production within national borders, if it costs more.
In the first instance, there is now a cadre of engineers, scientists, entrepeneurs, and financiers - outside not only the US, but the entire OECD - with the ability to create and market anything, and do it cheaper than within the US, given the will to do so. Also, given the relatively free mobility of labor into the US, there is no position, job, career, or business endeavor that can't be performed with a better ROI than what each and every one of *you* are doing right now.
Addressing the second point, there is real economic value in maintaining and cultivating the ability to create goods within a nation. The most obvious example is that providing the tools of national defense requires a heavy industrial base. However, hanging on to national sovereignty, the very freedom and ability to act within your own country without the consent of another nation requires more. Technologies, products, and services have been and will be witheld from the US market to meet other nations ends. Up 'til now, you probably haven't noticed, because either these goods weren't critical, or an alternate source of supply was available. When it does become noticeable, it may be too late to react to, for a variety of reasons.
I realize it's fun to play the troll and playact as Adam Smith, preaching the dogma of free markets, and in a /. post you're not doing much harm. But, I fear that the plethora of these opinions may also show that some of you aren't even trying to think the thing through. Perhaps your own ox hasn't yet been gored.
Luke, help me take this mask off
Microsoft has announced it will donate 5000 computers pre-loaded with Windows and Office software to the public schools...
This guy can't pass up a single segue to ranting about Bush. Its a good thing slashdot is here to keep this guy glued to his computer on a quest to "change minds" and away from us three dimensional folk.
Try there is no, Goo, or Goo not...
It's actually a very old wive's tale that MA has the highest tax rate- it doesn't. In 2000, it ranked 26th in taxes per $1000 of income(#4 in taxes per capita, perhaps more telling, but still below CT, NY and NJ, all of whom are about $600 more than MA, versus the next lowest from MA, about $200-300). I have no idea what it is currently, but part of the reason probably has to do with having some of the best schools in the nation.
But hey, don't say it too loudly, we like it here just fine :-)
Please help metamoderate.
Fucking redsox. I hate them, why couldn't the mariners get in the playoffs. God damnit they deserve to win the world series, bleh. Stupid. Oh well, go Seahawks!!!
They just felt silly writing their legal briefs for their antitrust suit again Microsoft using Microsoft Word. To say nothing about how easy it would be for M$ to put backdoors in the software and use it against them...
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
That's right. There are always more jobs out there. Our unemployment statistics are ficticious.
We can all make money by selling advertising on each other's websites.
You don't understand what "basic economic fundamentals" are. There are not an infinite number of jobs out there.
Because there is not an infinite number of jobs, that means there are a finite number of jobs.
But you say that there aren't a finite number of jobs. Therefore, there must be an infinite number of jobs. I wonder where those infinite number of employers are hiding.
could it have anything to do with the fact that Romney had the BSA sicked on him by his oppents after he won the governership
By it's very definition, Linux is an Open Standard - you or I or my kids can produce a Linux distribution given enough education and guidance. (Turn about is fair play, BTW)
Try writing Windows on your own, without previously selling your intellectual discoveries to Microsoft, or investing too much time and effort.
Using things that *you* have control over is a sound strategic business decision. Those who have a long term vision - in business and those who actaulaay care about providing the public sound, long term IT infrastruture - see this. The time of One True Vendor is drawing to a close - long live the *Open* Market.
Soko
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
MIcrosoft! Now Banned in Boston! oke, maybe not 'banned.' but i have to predict: the headline will come up...
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
Levi closed its last two manufacturing plants. 2,000 jobs will be lost and Levi will now only design and market clothing. The manufacturing will take place in China and Bangladesh. I guess you can't beat slave labor pricing in China.
I'm wearing Levis right now. But I'll be looking for American made jeans next time I go shopping.
I was preparing to write a proposal for my state representative. Now I can drop it and concentrate on my lane splitting legalization bill.
It is cowardly, and a betrayal of whatever it means to be a Jew, to act as a white man
-James Baldwin
Grandparent invoked Godwin, parent in violation.
I know PLAN is a four-letter word to management types, but a change like this can't be made overnight or they will fail. They first need to do a full scale study of their state's Goverment computer needs and then seek out the solutions on Sourceforge, perhaps even file a few "Ask Slashdots" too. They'll find some big holes that will need to be filled, and they need to plan around them for a time.
But...Once one state has a mostly OSS system up, The other states can copy away. I'm sure each state has it's own unique methods to implement individually, but states often need to interact. Once it is proven that Mass. can interact successfully with the Feds, other states, & businesses, then many more people will take them seriously.
Hopefully a states-funded OSS software group could form. They could implement the protocols, patch bugs, etc. I've always wondered why the states haven't 'ganged' up together to implement standards on their own...especially to get off the Federal $$$ Teet!
Another example would be public education. We've had nearly 100% available public education for more than 75 years now, yet it's still not really standardized with no created pool of knowladge to draw from. It would seem that OSS would be a solution to that issue as well. The actual material for kindergarden-college soph courses hasn't really changed much [you have to get well thru college before you learn anything "new"]...but schools spend huge amounts of their budgets on new books, software, etc EVERY YEAR..money that should be going to teacher for teaching. Imagine if every Kindergarden teacher simply submitted 1 coloring sheet to the pool. Or if each Science teacher submitted 1 unique experiment or Pop quiz. The sheer quantity would dwarf what's available now!
Boston City Council Staff Director Ann Hess has declined to send the usual emailed public hearing notices in plain text. The formatting of notices with some font in bold is done in .doc or .txt
What can be done to persuade our municipal government to use plain text for public hearing notices?...
If you'd be interested in seeing the Boston City Council agendas and public hearing notices, send a request...
ann dot hess at ci dot boston dot ma dot us.
I'm adopting linux for my neighborhood and school, converting people over to linux...
*shifts eyes*
Maybe they have been able to lower their budgets through the use of open source (and open standards), now that's a nice idea, as far as this taxpayer is concerned.
You're making no sense.
and liberal != democrat.
Bush knows exactly what he does. You're the only one out to lunch, HandSolo.
If you thought Microsoft licensing was prohibitively expensive, try it with a 300 % devaluation of your currency. Peru, Argentina, Brazil
At least we spend money on things that matter.
CNBC-the last vesture of rational thought on television (except maybe the weather channel) is going going gone. From an relative little bias untainted news channel to buyer beware watch your back because we're sell bullshit that Hover dam couldn't hold back (likely due to a back room promise by the democrates for deregulation of media ownership).
Ah, gotta love republican liberals. Love, peace and justice=public relations; All for just one vote and an annual salary at just under 15 million.
The media ownership deregulation thingy if passed will in essence use goverment regulation to devalue up-coming competators. I wonder if somebody could reverse engineer current moves to maybe predict where/how technology and implementation is going to occur. I hate it when fat cats through tantrums (hmmm reminds me my violin needs stringing).
my pitching elbow hurts!
>
Once it is proven that Mass. can interact successfully with the Feds, other states, & businesses, then many more people will take them seriously.
:)
... Windows, but migrated :), or Mr Project in Linux. They get a PDF and our management can work together as long as they all have the same basic software.
They will succeed and be _amazed_ at the cost savings. Now if we could just get them to roll some of that dough at schools teaching the kids/their replacements about thinking differently, if you will.
I know that we've been sending/receiving excel type spreadsheets with the states, unions, and insurance/attorney types with no issues. 90% of the stuff going out is in PDF format for review anyway. People love it. Who cares what you use internally to produce -- the customer doesn't care if we use FastTrack Scheduling software (Mac/Palm -- trained on
Let's see -- our accounting software is [PC]-DOS based. Yeah, it originated on MS-DOS, but that was trivial. We cover typically 40+ states a year (fed, state, and local taxes where applicable) along with 20-30 Unions a year. Thousands or tens-of-thousands customers and 2-3x that in vendors with hundreds to thousands of employees is typical. Medium sized company with very customized accounting type job costing software. We've done work for secured government contracts, to aerospace, to the automotive industry covering many types inbetween. Very few packages to handle everything needed (filings, W2's, payroll, etc). Funny, but we found that keyboard data entry (pure) is faster than click, click, menu, drop down, key-in, enter. Even the accounting firm, now making and selling the Windows version, agreed that for pure productivity we're not going to beat the 'ol DOS version for raw speed. To this day. Ironically running on a Mac (Virtual PC originally by Connectix). Too bad Microsoft bought them out. Running DOS on Linux is trivially easy...
No where near the Microsoft (what do they run their accounting software on?) or the Motorola level, but we interact with the rest of the world just fine. Except for CAD in our Engineering department. That, unfortunately, is still Win2K based with AutoCAD. AutoDesk has, at least, sent out questionaires inquiring about OS X interest. No word yet. Ironically they should have been the FIRST to migrate away from Windows and are smart enough to see how limiting it is and are drooling over the G5's.
Fortunately Microsoft's wonderful virus attraction of a operating system has caused us, as of 2000..., to decide that no 1 operating system should have all desktops for obvious security and productivity reasons. Linux was the cheap test and successful for everything except CAD work (or we just can't find the right package). The biggest problem is that no matter what the Linux users have felt gilted somewhat and want a Mac. There was one person (1) that just couldn't cope and didn't want anything except Windows. They made their own job so difficult it was just easier to make them want to quite. Done.
DAMNIT SHIT THE HELL UP about godwins law!!!!
Thats law is dumb, ask ian clarke
Yak yak yak. yak! And rights! Yak yak yak! Competition!
Dude, you're a fucking broken record. Real life is a little more complicated than your idiotic delusional-utopian vision of the big ape beating up the little ape and ascending to a supreme state of being.
In _real_ life, people care about their jobs. In _real_ life, people care about _cheap fucking food_. In _real_ life, people tend to have more of an emotional attachment, in the abstract, to people who live under the same government.
In short, you've got just as delusional view of reality as your average "give poor people back the taxes they didn't pay in the first place!" socialist scumbag.
Real life is a dichotomy, there's no simple answer as easy as letting the cheapest producer win, damn all.
After reading my post after hitting submit, the errors just glare out at me, and they make me wince. Badly. This sort of thing happens all too often, and I know it.
EXCUSE #1: I was typing that post, and this one for that matter, in the links text browser, and it's a pain in the ass to catch all the typos & thinkos -- especially when only a small window of the text fits on screen at once.
EXCUSE #2: IT'S SLASHDOT. A degree of presentational sloppiness is, I think, acceptable around here. The kind of sloppiness that bothers me -- and again, I please guilty to doing this as well -- is sloppiness of thought, pat cliches & trite slogans as stand-ins for actual perceptive analysis & argument & critique, etc. Too much of that crap can drag a discussion right down into the gutter, and IMO should be kept to a minimum for the sake of everyone. Typos though, that just goes with the territory...
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
Thanks for your reply, friend.
Soko
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
- MacOS X (sort of, since it's based off BSD)
Mac OS X is _very_ standards based. It goes way beyond BSD. Think about it, Apple has support for 802.11x, LDAP, Kerberos, PDF, IPv6, L2TP, the list of acronyms goes on and on.
Just a thought: you're trying to treat the symptom, not the cause. Get your own guy in there, and he'll be as much a symptom of the same cause. You could as easily push a spinning coin north, by pushing your finger northward into it.
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
My small business (not to be posted here for fear of being /.ed :) caters to other small business with low cost linux server solutions and out-sourced IT Services. Unlike other states where I have lived... there is actually a very strong market here.
as in Beer-Can
Help fight continental drift.
Just because there's terrorism in Iraq doesn't mean they won't come over here. If anything, it's just creating more pissed off terrorists, not attracting the people who were already pissed off into some kind of trap.
Needs to be on more desktops.
Apple is onto something.
"Future rants: Slashddot posters that begin their comments with "I have to {agree,disagree}."
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. That you insist on using overly-literal and incorrect interpretations of language constructs such as the above is indicative not only of a pedestrian grasp of the English language, but also of being American (often synonymous with "blunt," "rude," and "simple minded").
Here's an Anonymous Coward Tip for you: the correct interpretation of "have to" or "must" includes the inference that the person using it wishes to express a deference or show of respect to the comments expressed by you -- something that is perfectly acceptable (and often implicitly demanded) when speaking to someone who is older, someone in a position of power or authority, or someone more experienced or knowledgeable. In all cases, it's always been and continues to be good manners.
I'd suggest that the next time you sit in an interview, are invited to a meeting with your boss or sit in front of a judge, consider how your penchant for offering opinions using simple declaratory statements would be viewed when your opinion has neither been asked nor wanted. Chances are that if you are "out of line," your bad behaviour may be overlooked or forgiven if you use "I must" or "I have to."
Slight tax increases and a drastic increase in domestic goverment spending.
It's really not all that fucking hard.
I will give you doing exactly the opposite, does tend to cause our current situation. Bush isn't quite bright enough to see that.
http://www-2.hoovers.com/free/co/factsheet.xhtml?C OID=46460
80% of their products are USA made
The simplest rule should be this: That all interdepartmental data communications should be using a standard (ie: IP-claim-free) and well-documented protocol or format.
This would not dicate choices in software, indeed it would guarantee that each department has a free choice to 'use the right tool'.
But it would as a side-effect devalue most M$ products as candidates, since most would only be suitable for work that is entirely internal to the a particular department.
There would of course need to be an auditing/review system to ensure that the rule was being adhered to. This would probably lead to the maintenance of a 'cleared product list' of software choices that have passed the audit. Where 'embrace and extend' has been employed on a protocol the list entry would have to come with deployment notes explaining how to avoid interoperability problems.
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Licenses on the new service packes give remote access to the contents of your machine to Redmond in such a way that it violates HIPAA. That's not counting the design and production flaws resulting in remote exploits for WinNT, Win2000, WinXp, and Win2003.
So bascially, storing or manipulating personal data with MS windows is a gross or willful negligence lawsuit waiting to happen.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
>>Kriss said the state's decision was driven by a desire to reduce licensing fees but also "by a philosophy that what the state has is a public good and should be open to all
>Sure, just like steel tariffs, agricultural policy, public education and all of the other things designed to promote the public good.
You are seriously deluded. This is NOT a tarrif. Where do you get your information?
If the state requires blueprints for it's bridges, and Microsoft sells bridges without blueprints, then TOUGH SHIT: adapt, or die.
I am personally NOT INTERESTED in reading "blueprints" for bridges, but if they are hidden away from the vendor you bet your ass I will not trust that bridge... it's there for "the public good".
MS will join the party kicking and screaming, trust me.
The "public good" requires that process is open, specifications are open and that the government USES TAXPAYER DOLLARS WISELY.
I consider this "running the government like a business", and letting the state do what makes the most practical and fiscal sense. I assume you were against the government enforcing existing anti-trust laws on Microsoft... well, here's your "market forces at work".
Massachusetts is not the only MS CUSTOMER who wants to tell Microsoft to go fvck themselves.
Massachsetts has done a wonderful job the last five years cutting departmental costs using IT investments. Mass went from having one of the worst Dept. of Motor Vehicles departments in the country to one of the best. The office of Unemployment is also automated, to the point where they were able to get a lot more done with a lot fewer people, and save money all around.
Mass IT knows what they're doing, and to paint this as some kind of "social" effort is just misleading.
-Anon
(Because it's not wise to criticize MS in public)
>I'm from Mass but I'm not a liberal. (Score:1, Flamebait)
Ah, but you don't FOLLOW THE PARTY LINE and that makes you WORSE than a Democrat.
Obviously a few moderator(s) agreed.
I'm being sarcastic of course, but the moderation and meta-moderation system is completely broken.
Did you know if your moderation or meta-moderation is INCONSISTENT with the Slashdot hoardes, you become automatically inelligable to moderate.
It's true. You can post once per week, always get modded past 3, and have "perfect" 51 karma.. and still not moderate ever. The system rewards abusers.
"Other states may want to investigate this strategy in order to save $$$."
Change this to "Other states may HAVE to investigate this strategy in order to save $$$".
The federal govt. "saves money" by passing expenses off to the states. Thank Bush and the Republicans for boosting Linux!!!
The big thing is that the users of software are in the best position to notice what could be improved, and with OS and some programming skill they can do something about it. They can also cooperate with others in similar offices, and develop a "distro" that can be an evolving standard suite of applications for such offices.
And the cost can be divided amongst all instead of multiplied.
And if apps are done as real open source projects, hosted say at sourceforge or at some cs.xxx.edu site, there could be opportunity for software development courses to have some lab problems that have real-world requirements.
Consultants and companies could of course also be hired to move development along when there's a need that can't wait for the appropriate MA employee, or high school geek wanting bragging rights, to become available.
Seems like a no-brainer for state offices that are virtually clone operations.
The word "must" (or "have to" in this case) has a great variety of meanings other than how you seem to be reading it.
And besides, if you were to think more about the meaning of the idiom "I have to agree", you would realize that it is, in fact, perfectly appropriate.
What compels me to agree it not my conversational partner's command, it is my sense of duty to the truth (or at least to what I believe is the truth). You make some assertion, I don't believe that it is true, and so I disagree. I qualify my disagreement as a matter of politeness! (I'm sorry if this is rude, but I cannot in good conscience say that I agree with you - I have to disagree.)
No, I get the idiom, I just think it's annoying and snooty. It might be appropriate if you're sipping espresso in some Left Bank bistro, or at a cocktail party at some Cantabridgian lecture hall, but on Slashdot? Here (as there, for that matter), it just sounds pompous to me. That is what I object to.
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
As noted in another comment, I'm perfectly aware of what the idiom means, and am not unaware of the subtle etiquette game going on. I'm just not impressed by it. It sounds pompous & arrogant, not polite & demure. At least that's how it sounds to my, as you say, American ears.
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
Reason: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.
Thanks for the info re: the anti-state-income-tax movement in MA, which I'd never heard of before. If they can swing the other 3% next time around, I'd put Massachusetts on my list of possibly livable states ;)
Flatter taxes are better than steeper ones, fewer are better than more, etc.
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5