<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">For your interest, from:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1129201202284690.xml&coll=7</font>
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<td><font size=4 color=#d20000 face="Arial"><b>An opening for open-source
software </b></font>
<br><font size=1 face="Arial"><b>Considering this new platform, </b></font>
<br><font size=1 face="Arial">Thursday, October 13, 2005 </font>
<p><font size=1 face="Arial">agency mangers now talk about 'how to,' not
'whether' </font>
<p><font size=1 face="Arial">Y ou can tell open-source software is no longer
a geeky movement of Windows renegades when so many of its users actually
wear ties. A flock of them, mostly public-sector employees, have descended
on Portland this week to discuss how using unlicensed, open-source software
can save their departments money and help them operate more efficiently.
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<p><font size=1 face="Arial">Officials of various cities and states, including
the Oregon departments of Transportation, Corrections and Human Services,
are gathered at GOSCON 05 (Government Open Source Conference) to discuss
open source, from its collaborative development process to the business
case for using it. They are drawn by a common interest in -- and for many,
zeal for -- this software platform that was cobbled together, tested and
improved by a user community, rather than a commercial behemoth. </font></table>
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<td><font size=1 face="Arial">This is especially nice to see in a state
that previously has resisted efforts to promote the public-sector use of
open-source software. (See the 2003 and 2005 legislative sessions, when
bills encouraging such use never reached the floor.) </font>
<p><font size=1 face="Arial">A prevalent corporate cliche from the past
century was that you couldn't get fired for buying IBM. But over time,
even slow-to-awaken purchasing managers recognized that you could buy a
reliable computer without leaning on Big Blue. With multiple credible alternatives,
IBM's marketplace dominance began to erode. </font>
<p><font size=1 face="Arial">These days, you probably can't get fired for
buying Windows. But increasingly, governments are willing to look through
the window. Ultimately, that is good for both customers and the computing
marketplace. </font>
<p><font size=1 face="Arial">Oregon, even more than most places, should
welcome this. With Gov. Ted Kulongoski himself declaring in August that
open-source software is "the future," the Portland area seeks
to become a movement mecca. Kulongoski pledged state money to help pay
a coordinator of the state's open-source, economic development efforts.
That coordinator, longtime high-tech marketing guru Cheryl Vandemore, just
started in her new job. </font>
<p><font size=1 face="Arial">Some of the world's leading devotees and practitioners
of open-source software have clustered near Portland. The area is home
to IBM's Linux Technology Development Center, the nonprofit Open Source
Development Labs, Beaverton's new Open Technology Business Center and even
the inventor of Linux himself, Linus Torvalds. </font>
<p><font size=1 face="Arial">Even if the Legislature can't pass a bill
that encourages state agencies to consider open-source software in purchasing
decisions, it's good to see that plenty of state employees can think for
themselves. </font></table>
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Robin Lougee-Heimer<br>
IBM TJ Watson Research Center<br>
1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598<br>
ph: 914-945-3032 fax: 914-945-3434 <br>
robinlh@us.ibm.com<br>
http://www.coin-or.org<br>
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