Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Sender: @ (Unverified) Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 00:15:54 -0500 To: undisclosed-recipient:; From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Open-source battle is heating up
UPGRADE
Open-source battle is heating up
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff, 12/22/2003
The future of the computer software industry was being fought out last week in the Massachusetts Senate. It was just a skirmish, but dozens more just like it are happening in legislatures around the world. And the outcome will go a long way toward determining the shape of the industry in years to come. Our state's role in the drama began in September, when a remarkable memo leaked from the office of Eric Kriss, Massachusetts secretary of finance and administration. The memo said, or seemed to say, that the entire state would abandon the use of traditional computer software and replace them with "open-source" programs.
So what? Well, imagine being told that your company was getting rid of all its Microsoft Corp. software, like Windows and Office, two of the most widely used programs on Earth. Or that you'd be losing all your Apple Computer Inc. machines running Macintosh software, or all of your Oracle Corp. databases. Most of the world runs on this kind of proprietary, "closed-source" software, in which the underlying source code remains the confidential property of the software vendor.
Under the Kriss plan, such software would be replaced where possible with open source software. The Linux operating system is the best-known open-source product. For one thing, the underlying code is given away to open-source customers, allowing them to modify the software as needed. Besides, open-source products are generally available at no cost for the code itself. The customer pays only for training and support.
So governments save money while liberating themselves from the whims of companies like Microsoft or Oracle, who can raise prices or make inconvenient changes in the design of their software whenever they please. So what's not to like about the Kriss memo?
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http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2003/12/22/open_source_battle_is_heating_up/
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