UK Government Boosts Open Source Adoption

Cameron Logie writes "The UK Government has today announced full backing for greater adoption of Open Source solutions in the public sector. According to the article at the BBC News site, 'Government departments will be required to adopt open source software when "there is no significant overall cost difference between open and non-open source products" because of its "inherent flexibility."'"

Re:Spin

[OneSmartFellow]

Addendum:

I'm sorry, I don't have the figures, but I'd rather live in a country where the police are rarely seen, and when they are they act with (relative) prudence, instead of like drunken cowboys.

I'd also prefer to live in a country where they don't incarcerate 1/8 of all black males under the age of 30 [wsws.org], or detain people without charge indefinitely [webcitation.org].

Those topics are far more important to me than some cameras placed in public places.

A press release only.

[Anonymous Coward]

This is just a press release, it's intended to neutralise [telegraph.co.uk] the Conservatives open source policy announcements. Nothing is actually going to happen.

Slightly later this afternoon the Government, orchestrated by Tom Watson MP, is planning to slip out an announcement that it will to stop discriminating against open source software in its procurement in an apparent attempt to look hip.

When George Osborne advocated the change, the Government briefed that open source was bad for security. Most geeks seemed to disagree with the position of the Government's briefings. Gordon Brown has always been keen to be close to open source's ultimate enemy, Microsoft founder Bill Gates: Mr Brown was responsible for Mr Gates receiving a knighthood and has co-authored a newspaper article with the software entrepreneur.

While many hard-pressed businesses have decided not to upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft products, I'm told the Government has no plans to stop its negotiations with Microsoft though OGC Buying Solutions, the public sector procurement agency, to keep licensing new version of Microsoft products.

In other words, I think we can safely deduce that the Government's announcement is about out taking away a Tory argument and is unlikely to result in any actual change in Whitehall.