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Croatia Adopts Open Source Policy
lisah writes "Croatia says that concerns over the expense and limitations of proprietary software led to last month's decision to adopt a free and open source software policy within Croatia's government. Officials say the move will make the government's work more transparent as well as help to better manage its operating costs. Taking it a step further, under the new policy the government will also support the use of open source in schools, saying, 'both closed and open source solutions will be equally presented to students.' Vlatko Kosturjak, president of the Croatian Linux User Group, is unmoved. Citing the practical and technical difficulties of embracing open source on such a broad scale, he says until the policy is actually implemented, '[it] is just like an unsent letter.'"
Correction: We can't verify that some foreign government or corporation isn't spying on us if we use closed-source software. Also we can't translate the software into croatian ourselves, but have to wait for the vendor to do it.
Wow. I guess that not every Linux user in Croatia is a shrill, unrealistic, idealistic, zealot!
In a month Microsoft will be offering them a fantastic licensing deal and like other countries that "decided" to use open source, they'll likely change their course.
I think government all around the world should adopt similar policies.
1. Governamental software is usualy specialized, so they had to pay for the whole development. Now they can build uppon OSS saving money.
2. The development will probably be made by locals. Creating more programmers there, and more business based on OSS (support, custom development, etc).
3. They will have full control of what there softwares do. No more hidden calls home by proprietary software.
4. Security will probably be better: security by secret is the worst kind.
My only question is... Why only there? Why don't other nations use similar policies? Why they keep buying from foreign companies instead of using OSS?
They are in debt and are spending to much. They don't have any money. They spend 19 billion and only bring in 17 billion. The Republic of Croatia is looking to cut expenses. Though, it should be easier to cut 2 billion in expenses compared to 200 billion USA needs to cut.
And in case if any slashdotters wants to move there.
Croatia has GDP of $35 billion and $11,000 per capita. Unemployment is 18% compared to USA's 4.6%. Croatia is also mostly Catholic with only 1.3% is muslim as of 2001.
If you want to congratulate the government. You can contact them through Ambassador Neven JURICA at 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008. Phone is 202-588-5899
More information available at your local CIA office.
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I think since croatia was a later invention
:-)
:-)
that effectively Tesla was clearly serb.
If Croatia is a 'later invention', being for the first time recognised as an independent kingdom in year 925 (not 1925, mind you!), then I guess the US is to come into existance over the next few centuries? Sure, the Greeks were there a couple thousand or so years earlier, but still...
As a greek i can assure you that "nationality" is the latin translation of the greek oriented word "ethnicity"
(ethnos = nation).
So, everyone in the US is an American and that's it? There are no irish americans, no polish americans, no jewish americans? Croat (being of croatian ethnicity) and Croatian (being of croatian citizenship) are obviously different things. Tesla was a croatian Serb, a very clearly defined term.
Damn why these croats struggle so hard to look different than serbs....
For the same reason Macedonians struggle hard to look different than Greeks:
unfortunate historical reasons.
But, this is not the best venue for this kind of discussions, so let's leave it at that.
Guys admit, you speak the SAME language, you live in the SAME land,
and you will have to work very hard to become something else than you trully are.
Well, we speak the same language and live in the same land in as much as Danes, Swedes and Norwegians do. Do you consider them a single nation?
And, now, we return you to our regular flavor of zealotry...
I think since croatia was a later invention
I think you need a history lesson.
that effectively Tesla was clearly serb.
Tesla was clearly a Serb. A Serb from Croatia. Just like a Turk from Germany is not from Turkey.
I'll give you an example: Fatih Yakin is a famous German Turk film director. Germans AND Turks are both proud of his movies.
As a greek i can assure you that "nationality" is the latin translation of the greek oriented word "ethnicity"
(ethnos = nation).
This is irrelevant, since both ethnicity and nation are very well defined terms in other languages, including English, which we are using for discussion here. Tesla was a Serb, born and raised in a place which has been known as Croatia for at least a thousand years. You're the only one who has a problem with this concept. He is a Croatian Serb, and as I wrote before, it's perfectly OK for both Croats and Serbs to claim him and feel proud about him.
Damn why these croats struggle so hard to look different than serbs....
Guys admit, you speak the SAME language, you live in the SAME land,
and you will have to work very hard to become something else than you trully are.
Same goes to (supposedly) muslim bosnians.
Why do you try so hard to look different from Turks.... You look the same, live in the same land......
What's going on with the lame, unenthusiastic response by that Vlatko Kosturjak guy, president of the Croatian Linux User Group ?
Yeah, I can imagine it might be difficult to do the transition on a large setting. So ???? Difficult doesn't mean hopeless, but that's sure how his response was. Shouldn't he be rolling up his sleeves and maybe offer resources, instead of just sitting back and making unhelpful, aloof statements like that ?
Maybe he has had bad experiences with his govt's hot air statements. Who knows ? However, you can't win *anything* with a bad attitude like that. If that's the sort of "look down", "prove it to me" attitude of the friggin' *President* of the Linux User Group, I would run 100 miles the other way. A new adopter, even if it's the government, is not supposed to be made feel that they have to *prove* anything. If anything it should be Vlatko and his cohorts making clear that they are ready to *serve* and help any new adopters. But again, I don't have enough context to know what's going on there. I think that whole *serving* concept is completely over Vlatko's head. I wouldn't be surprised if a private corporation with inferior product but better attitude gets in there, then.