London Government Accused Of Open Source Inaction

Mayor Boris Johnson has faced Green Party criticism of his open source commitment - but activists say the real problem is with central government.

A Green Party representative has accused the London government of failing to fully exploit open source software, but activists say the Greater London Authority (GLA) is doing well… at least compared to central government.

There are political advantages in vendor lock-in

Today Matt Asay urges government buyers to support open source, open data and open standards. Why? Because it’s better. Because it promotes competition. Because it gives government flexibility. But after watching government on every level, in various countries, for over half my lifetime, I can tell you the last thing any government wants is to make a decision its successor can overturn.

UK: The Open Source, Open Standards and Reuse Strategy

‘Open Source’ has been one of the most significant cultural developments in ICT over the last two decades.  Products that provide access to the source code that powers the application enables the wider development community to exploit new and innovative solutions to business requirements.  These products are based on open standards and can thus be re-used to solve multiple problems and can be repurposed quickly. 

Traditionally, the public sector has relied on Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software or bespoke solutions from global providers. This restricts the ability of the public sector to reuse solutions, reduces flexibility to manage assets efficiently and prevents government organisations from switching suppliers. The Open Source, Open Standards, Reuse strategy provides guides on how to use Open Source alternatives that meet public sector requirements. Government already commits to using only open standards for documentation. The ICT strategy will build capability within the public sector to increase the amount of open source code and software in use and make it available for reuse elsewhere.

UK Government policy update supports open source

The UK government has published an updated policy on open source in government. The new policy takes a more aggressive position on government use of open source than the original policy, published in 2004. That document set out five policy points that allowed open source based solutions to be considered alongside proprietary solutions and tried to avoid lock in to proprietary software. The new policy document notes how the 2004 policy has already had effects, such as 50 per cent use of Apache web server within departmental web sites, and the NHS "Spine" migration to a Linux based infrastructure, which will cover 35 per cent of NHS organisations.

A nyílt wifi vége Nagy-Britanniában?

Egy új szabályozás következményeként valószínűleg kevesebb lesz a nyílt wifi Nagy-Britanniában. A törvénytervezet szerint a szolgáltatók lesznek felelősek, ha hálózatukon a felhasználók illegális tevékenységet folytatnak. Egyetemekkel, könyvtárakkal sem kivételeznek, a kávézók és kisebb üzletek pedig komoly forgalomcsökkenést könyvelhetnek el.

Linux a londoni értéktőzsdén

A 2008 szeptemberi leállás után a londoni értéktőzsde vezetése úgy döntött, hogy az addig Windows alapú rendszerét Linux alapúra cseréli.

Egy óra kiesés itt dollármilliárdokat jelenthet a kiesett kereskedés miatt. Természetesen a rendszert nem csak Linux alkotja, találkozhatunk például a már jól ismert Cisco és Solaris nevekkel is. Az új rendszerrel egy-egy tranzakció az eddigi 2,7 ezredmásodpercről 0,4 ezredmásodpercre csökkenhet. A Linux mellett nemcsak a gyorsabb tranzakció, de az ár is döntött. Sokkal olcsóbb, pláne felső kategóriás kiszolgálókra - állítja a computerworld.com cikkírója.

Source: Terminal

Government promotes open source for public sector

The UK government has published a new policy aimed at promoting the use of open source software in the public sector.

A World class Digitial Economy for Britain

The Digital Economy Bill, introduced today, sets out Government plans to ensure the UK is at the leading edge of the global digital economy.

Egyszerűsített Linuxszal csábítanák a brit nyugdíjasokat az internetre

Egyszerűsített szoftverrel ösztönzik Nagy-Britanniában a 65 év felettiek PC-használatát, akik közül több mint hatmillióan még egyszer sem vették igénybe az internetet.

A nyílt forráskód mellé áll a brit kormány

Egyenlő versenyfeltételeket kell teremteni a két tábornak. Nemcsak a nyílt szoftvereket, hanem az azokat fejlesztő mozgalom filozófiáját is hasznosítani tervezik.

UK government backs open source

The UK government has said it will accelerate the use of open source software in public services.

Tom Watson MP, minister for digital engagement, said open source software would be on a level playing field with proprietary software such as Windows.

Open source software will be adopted "when it delivers best value for money", the government said.
It added that public services should where possible avoid being "locked into proprietary software".
Licences for the use of open source software are generally free of charge and embrace open standards, and the code that powers the programs can be modified without fear of trampling on intellectual property or copyright.