Thanks to Matt Asay for bringing my attention to the United States Navy’s User Guidance Memorandum regarding Open Source [pdf].
The objective of the Department of Defense (DoD) goal of achieving an interoperable net-centric environment is to improve the warfighter’s effectiveness through seamless access to critical information. A key piece in supporting the DoD goal is the ability to utilize OSS as part of the Department of the Navy’s (DON) Information Technology (IT) portfolio.
According to John Scott, this usage document is the first in a series of memorandums regarding U.S. Navy policy on Open Source, future updates will address "distribution" and "development".
June 7th, 2007
The government of Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India, has begun deploying Linux and other open source software solutions throughout their government IT systems.
"Initially, 99 per cent of government systems have been running on Microsoft systems but then 2007 will be a watershed year for the state IT sector. We are fast migrating to Linux operating systems which are so much cheaper and can be operated at low cost, besides offering continuous updates and freedom from viruses," says Mr C. Umashankar, managing director of state-owned ELCOT, vested with the responsibility of overseeing such ambitious government projects as e-governance, enumerating the beneficiaries of the free TV scheme, family ration cards and the free sari-dhoti distribution.
January 3rd, 2007
The City of Amsterdam will be testing out open source software in two administrative districts, the housing department and one of its borough offices. Amsterdam is one of ten Dutch cities to sign the "manifesto for open software in government"
"Earlier this year, a study ordered by the (Amsterdam) city council showed that an ‘open’ software strategy leads to more independence from suppliers," the city said in a statement. "In addition, the use of open software can lead to better exchange and storage of information, without unacceptable financial or logistical risks."
The test is scheduled to run during the first half of 2007, and, if successful, the rest of the city may start using open source software, the city statement said.
It said it didn’t plan to stop using Microsoft software entirely in any case, but "it is the expectation that a new contract with … Microsoft will be smaller." The current contract expires in at the end of 2008.
December 26th, 2006
Another win for Open Source and Free Software in France, this time in Parliament itself:
Starting in June 2007, PCs in French deputes’ offices will be equipped with a Linux operating system and open-source productivity software.
The project, backed by parliament members Richard Cazenave and Bernard Carayon of the Union for a Popular Movement party, will see 1,154 French parliamentary workstations running on Linux, with OpenOffice.org productivity software, the Firefox Web browser and an open-source e-mail client.
Interesting that the actual Linux distribution has yet to be chosen, and that the Government is endorsing the concept of an Open Desktop system in general. Already using Open Source Software on some of their servers, including Apache, Linux and Mambo, the Government expects to achieve significant cost savings in the long term using Open Source desktops as well:
“The study showed that open-source software will from now on offer functionality adapted to the needs of MPs (members of parliament) and will allow us to make substantial savings despite the associated migration and training costs,” the parliament said.
November 27th, 2006