[Fwd: Re: [ILUG] Government use of OSS]

[David Howe]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Re: [ILUG] Government use of OSS
From:    "David Howe" <david.howe at howesystems.com>
Date:    Thu, March 5, 2009 2:50 pm
To:      "Niall O Broin" <niall at magicgoeshere.com>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


On Thu, March 5, 2009 12:06 pm, Niall O Broin wrote:
> On 5 Mar 2009, at 11:09, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>
>> Anyone got an estimate of how much the government might save
>> if it went over to open source software?
>
> Do we subtract the amount it'd lose by pissing off Microsoft so that
> they pulled out of Ireland, or is that a separate budget?

Microsoft are a large contributor to the exchequer. However it is
notoriously difficult to measure the true value of FOSS, apart from the
Googles of this world as the following article points out:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/05/open-source

What we do need is a standards based approach in Government and I don't
mean OOXML but interchange formats that actually work. ODF would be a
start here as this does work quiet well.

In fact the most celebrated interchange format ASCII was insisted on by
Lyndon Johnson's administration because of the fear of market abuse by
dominant players. The US administration then had the foresight that so few
administrations exhibit now.

"I have also approved recommendations of the Secretary of Commerce
regarding standards for recording the Standard Code for Information
Interchange on magnetic tapes and paper tapes when they are used in
computer operations. All computers and related equipment configurations
brought into the Federal Government inventory on and after July 1, 1969,
must have the capability to use the Standard Code for Information
Interchange and the formats prescribed by the magnetic tape and paper tape
standards when these media are used."

Lyndon B. Johnson, 11 March 1968




>
> Niall
>
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>


-- 
David Howe
Managing Director
Howe Systems Limited-"protecting your data"
Tel: +353 402 93030
Mob: +353 86 328 2903
Registered Address: Rock Big, Arklow, County Wicklow
Place of Registration: Dublin, Ireland.
Company Registration Number:399359



-- 
David Howe
Managing Director
Howe Systems Limited-"protecting your data"
Tel: +353 402 93030
Mob: +353 86 328 2903
Registered Address: Rock Big, Arklow, County Wicklow
Place of Registration: Dublin, Ireland.
Company Registration Number:399359