On 7/10/06, manny <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Open source deserves a boost. In fact, we ought to go faterh than that. We ought to REQUIRE all government agencies to use open source applications unless there is no other choice but to use proprietary software. We should giove tax breaks for companies that remain free of illegal software by using open source software (NOT licensed proprietary software). Maybe that sopunds radical, but if we reach for it, we may be able to achieve more, even if we don't get all we ask for.
This is a very dangerous attitude to policy making -- bordering on extremist and dictatorial. There is a big problem when _requiring_ or _unconditionally favoring_ a certain product/service especially in government which is supposedly democratic, and which supposedly is adhering to the free trade and free market economy: discrimination. When you start discriminating software based on the licensing and not the functionality and the actual value of the software (not monetary, but in terms of how much utility it provides) then it's like discriminating against a contractor because they have different religions. What government should provide is a fair playing field for legal open source development/solution firms operating locally and proprietary software development/solution firms operating locally -- not a preference nor a bias for or against either. The last thing that Open Source Software needs is politics -- let's keep it out of actual policy making and be as objective as possible. -- Dean Michael C. Berris C/C++ Software Architect Orange and Bronze Software Labs http://3w-agility.blogspot.com/ http://cplusplus-soup.blogspot.com/ Mobile: +639287291459 Email: dean [at] orangeandbronze [dot] com _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
