Open-source battle is heating up

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

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Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 00:15:54 -0500
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From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
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?

...

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2003/12/22/open_source_battle_is_heating_up/

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