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Open Source In Public Sector Meeting Opposition
Open Source movements have been gaining popularity everywhere, but not everyone is happy about that. Johans wrote to mention a ZDNet Asia story discussing a controversy within the Malaysian computer industry over the government's 'Public Sector Open Source Software Masterplan. From the article: " ... the government has stated that its first choice in IT procurement are infocomm technology solutions developed on the open-source platform. It states that 'in situations where advantages and disadvantages of open-source software (OSS) and proprietary software are equal, preference shall be given to OSS' ... However, some industry consortiums have stepped out to voice their concerns over this policy." Meanwhile, Anonymous Coward wrote to mention a Fox News article entitled 'Massachusetts Should Close Down OpenDocument', calling the attention of journalists to the 'huge mistake' that Massachusetts is making by switching to OpenDocument. From that article: "Officials in the state have proposed a new policy that mandates that every state technology system use only applications designed around OpenDocument file formats. Such a policy might seem like something that should concern only a small group of technology professionals, but in fact the implications are staggering and far-reaching. The policy promises to burden taxpayers with new costs and to disrupt how state agencies interact with citizens, businesses and organizations."
My super-sparkly Palladium Wristwatch I got from Microsoft will get splashed and start bluescreening again!
The policy promises to burden taxpayers with new costs...
Boss: How much is the software going to cost?
Tech: Um, it's free.
Boss: How about all the manpower hours?
Tech: Alright, we'll shutdown the Quake server for the time being.
Editoral^w^w^w^w^w^w Advertising space for hire!
Seriously, does anyone take fox as a news source theese days? Its like a tv version of those magazines where you get a free positive article for every ad you pay for.
HTTP/1.1 400
You've just GOT to love this little gem...
The article titled "ATL's opposition to the proposed Mandate of Open Office and Portable Document Format (PDF) formats as contained in Enterprise Technical Reference Model v.3.5." links to a PDF.
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make sure you always have a fresh page by hitting SHIFT-F5!
*ahem* you mean Ctrl+R, right?
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
I'm shocked, SHOCKED I say. What's next, acting as a mouthpiece for government talking points/propoganda?
Dead from a BSOD, no doubt.
The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
Ozarka, Dasani, Oasis and Sparklettes have joined forces in opposition to the public water system citing anticompetitive behavior and enormous public risk of disease and terrorist threat.
Also got to love this little snippet form a press release on the ATL propaganda site:
"American companies doing business across the globe should not have to face a higher standard of regulation in the European Union than they do here"
Seems they're against 'higher-standards' too.
http://www.techleadership.org/press/092605.shtml
That is only natural. In the fiercely competetitive sector of lobbying, market forces guarantee that competing service providers will use every available method to produce their services cheaper to stay competitive. This constant strive for efficiency is what makes capitalistic system of offering lobbying services in a free market such a superior alternative to the communistic tradition of state-owned and centrally managed lobby groups with their unrealistic five-year plans.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.