[Coin-discuss] An opening for open-source software -- The Oregonian, 10/13/05

[Robin Lougee-Heimer]

For your interest, from:
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1129201202284690.xml&coll=7

An opening for open-source software 
Considering this new platform, 
Thursday, October 13, 2005 
agency mangers now talk about 'how to,' not 'whether' 
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. 
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. 

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.) 
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. 
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. 

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. 
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. 
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. 


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Lougee-Heimer
IBM TJ Watson Research Center
1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
ph: 914-945-3032   fax: 914-945-3434 
robinlh at us.ibm.com
http://www.coin-or.org

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