D
Dr alw
NEW YORK - Three weeks ago, John P. Stenbit, chief information officer
of the U.S. Department of Defense, issued an agencywide memo that has
Linux lovers rejoicing. The brief outlined the DOD's policy on
acquiring, using and developing open-source software, including the
Linux operating system. By creating an official policy, the DOD is
"outing" open source, a technology that was stuck in government limbo,
neither condoned nor outlawed.
"People used to think they'd get fired if they talked about it. It was
'Don't ask, don't tell,'" says Tony M. Stanco, founding director of
the Center of Open Source & Government, a policy think tank. "But now
that the DOD has legitimized open source, people won't be afraid to
come out and say that they use it."
The government may be Linux's main squeeze for a while. Corporate IT
spending is expected to be flat this year. In contrast, the U.S.
government will spend an estimated $59 billion on tech in 2003, up 7%
from last year. Tech giants such as Computer Sciences (nyse: CSC -
news - people ), Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ), IBM (nyse: IBM
- news - people ), Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ), Microsoft
(nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) and Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW -
news - people ) are typically the biggest beneficiaries of federal
spending. Of note: Through products sold by those companies, the
government may already be consuming more open-source software than it
thinks.
While the DOD is not stating a preference for open source, it is the
first federal agency to officially sanction its use, placing it on
equal footing with proprietary technology.
"There are de facto policies by other agencies, but we were the first
to put it on paper," says Robert Gorrie, deputy director of the
Defense Information Assurance Program, a DOD unit. "We said to the
developers, 'Use the things that are best for you. It's a level
playing field...go for it.' "
http://www.forbes.com/2003/06/20/cz_eb_0620linux.html
of the U.S. Department of Defense, issued an agencywide memo that has
Linux lovers rejoicing. The brief outlined the DOD's policy on
acquiring, using and developing open-source software, including the
Linux operating system. By creating an official policy, the DOD is
"outing" open source, a technology that was stuck in government limbo,
neither condoned nor outlawed.
"People used to think they'd get fired if they talked about it. It was
'Don't ask, don't tell,'" says Tony M. Stanco, founding director of
the Center of Open Source & Government, a policy think tank. "But now
that the DOD has legitimized open source, people won't be afraid to
come out and say that they use it."
The government may be Linux's main squeeze for a while. Corporate IT
spending is expected to be flat this year. In contrast, the U.S.
government will spend an estimated $59 billion on tech in 2003, up 7%
from last year. Tech giants such as Computer Sciences (nyse: CSC -
news - people ), Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ), IBM (nyse: IBM
- news - people ), Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ), Microsoft
(nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) and Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW -
news - people ) are typically the biggest beneficiaries of federal
spending. Of note: Through products sold by those companies, the
government may already be consuming more open-source software than it
thinks.
While the DOD is not stating a preference for open source, it is the
first federal agency to officially sanction its use, placing it on
equal footing with proprietary technology.
"There are de facto policies by other agencies, but we were the first
to put it on paper," says Robert Gorrie, deputy director of the
Defense Information Assurance Program, a DOD unit. "We said to the
developers, 'Use the things that are best for you. It's a level
playing field...go for it.' "
http://www.forbes.com/2003/06/20/cz_eb_0620linux.html