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.gov.au Guide to Open Source Software

kieronb writes "The Australian Government Information Management Office has recently released "A Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies". Surprisingly, it actually appears to have been written by someone with a clue, and provides quite a balanced overview of what F/OSS is and how it differs to proprietary software. Choice quotes: "Sourcing OSS solutions is a new and less understood area for Government Agencies. As a recult, it often seems to involve higher risk. As open source solutions become more mainstream and agencies gain expertise in evaluating and deploying them, this perception of risk should subside."; "Access to source code is, however, valuable to agencies by virtue of the economic flow-on effects that accrue when multiple vendors offer competing products based on the same technology. Access to source code also reduces the risk of vendor lock-in.""

3 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. wow! by deathwombat · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    2 topics concerning australia in a row on the main page! Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

    --
    Accept any challenge, No matter the odds.
  2. Australia on open source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Hi My name is Greg. I work at Google, check out our new patented technologies to make your life better and easier.

    Here's a picture of me:

    http://tinyurl.com/7e98a

  3. Re:wide? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    You fail it.