More open source software for UK
The British government is planning on increasing the amount of open source software used in public services, reports Digital Trends.
Government says open source software will be adopted for public services "when it delivers best value for money," and that public services should avoid being “locked into proprietary software,” according to the BBC.
The move could reportedly save the government $900 million (R8.95 billion) a year, and is part of a wave of open source moves by governments around the globe, says Simon Phipps, chief open source officer for Sun Microsystems.
Open source seen as 'anti-capitalist'
Sun Microsystems chairman, Scott McNealy, wants president Barack Obama's administration to do what the UK, Denmark and other countries have done: encourage, as a matter of policy, open source software adoption, according to Computerworld.
Although open source platforms are widely used today in the federal government, McNealy believes many government officials don't understand it, fear it and even oppose it for ideological reasons.
McNealy cited an open source development project that Sun worked on with the US Department of Health and Human Services, during which a federal official said that “open source was anti-capitalist”. That sentiment, McNealy fears, is not unusual or isolated.
Microsoft-TomTom suit a threat
Despite Microsoft's assurances that a patent lawsuit against GPS navigation company TomTom is not targeting the overall Linux community, open source leaders say that the legal action is antagonistic toward the movement, cnet reports.
Microsoft filed two separate actions against TomTom before the US District Court in Washington and the International Trade Commission, alleging infringement of eight patents, three of which involve Linux.
Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez says the legal actions were taken after attempts to negotiate on licensing failed.
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