.gov.au Guide to Open Source Software 144
kieronb writes "The Australian Government Information Management Office has recently released
"A Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies". Surprisingly, it actually appears to have been written by someone with a clue, and provides quite a balanced overview of what F/OSS is and how it differs to proprietary software. Choice quotes: "Sourcing OSS solutions is a new and less understood area for Government Agencies. As a recult, it often seems to involve higher risk. As open source solutions become more mainstream and agencies gain expertise in evaluating and deploying them, this perception of risk should subside."; "Access to source code is, however, valuable to agencies by virtue of the economic flow-on effects that accrue when multiple vendors offer competing products based on the same technology. Access to source code also reduces the risk of vendor lock-in.""
About bloody time Australia (Score:5, Funny)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:3, Funny)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2, Informative)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:4, Informative)
Talk about inaccurate stereotypes.
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2, Funny)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1, Funny)
No, because Fosters is what we export to those unsuspecting Americans
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:3, Funny)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2)
I have to admit, it does taste a lot better overseas than here. Then again, when you're craving an Aussie beer, you do what you can. I still remember spending a night drinking $6 stubbies of VB at The Flying Emu in Calgary...
Of course we drink Fosters ! (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, we love our Fosters, it is the best Aussie beer ever. I personally drink 3 pints of the stuff with breakfast, lunch and tea.
Shh! We've got to let them think we drink camel piss ..ur... Fosters, so we can keep all the good beer to ourselves.
Re:Of course we drink Fosters ! (Score:1)
But to be fair, given a pint price of 3 pounds in the UK for a good beer, I'd rather pay 2 po
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2)
Dunno where you're from mate but I've seen it at least once per year over the past five years or so...
And as per another post, yeah, they'd been marinated for ages before being cooked.
As to throwing them on "Barbie" - well, yeah, but you'd better be careful or she might deck ya for tryin!
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:2)
When my wife got promoted and moved from Western Australia to Victoria in the 1970's she couldn't buy "Emu Export" one of WA's famous beers (ironically they don't export it). So she got her mother to send her a slab (36 bottles). The nature of the law back then meant that the beer had to travel from WA to VIC via Papua New Guinea!
When it finally arrived in Melbourne it was quickly consumed by Sandgropers
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1)
"telstra decide to recall broadband"
"goverment look into censoring all porn sites australia wide"
"isp reduces download limits to 3.5mbytes per annum"
"dingos eat babies, while surfing at 56k!"
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1)
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1)
But maybe they still use Hex editor in some episodes of "charmed"
-----------
Now I'm sure this post will really contribute to the fast adoption of Open Source Software in the Public Sector world wide, and generaly better the world
Re:About bloody time Australia (Score:1)
just in case.. (Score:1, Informative)
Government views on F/OSS (Score:5, Interesting)
Luckily not everybody buys into the FUD.
- nhnFreespirit
Re:Government views on F/OSS (Score:2, Funny)
Nothing new here (Score:1)
Re:Nothing new here (Score:1)
'the fuck you care?
If that's what they need to do their work, so be it!
In country where I live, I'd hate to see them learning GNOME or messing around with OpenOffice import/export filters instead of doing their fucking jobs 'cause when I'm paying someone's salary I wanna see them work. Productively.
>governments seem to have difficulty making the reality in low-level department branches match up with their official national policies
That's n
Re:Nothing new here (Score:2)
Well, ignoring your ill manners:
Government Spending (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Government Spending (Score:2)
I always find this funny when people wonder why dvorak didn't conquer the world. Dvorak was optimized for typing in English. Well guess what, not everybody types in English. I will probably never use dvorak because I do most of my typing in French (that is, when I'm not on /.), and dvorak would suck in French. Other languages are probably just as bad.
Then why not have a different keyboard layout for every language
Re:Government Spending (Score:2)
For typing in French, how are the accents done? Are they generally ignored, or is the keymap set up so that most of them can be done with alt-*, ctrl-*, and so on? I can't imagine French typists spend all their time looking and clicking at onscreen character maps...
Re:Government Spending (Score:2)
é is mapped to / (bottom right of keyboard)
è à ù can be either a combination of two keys (` followed by the vowel, known as the French-Canadian variant), or to a single key, è being mapped to `, à to \ (above the Enter key) and ù usually left of z (known as the French keyboard).
â ê î ô û are always a combination of two keys (^ followed by the vowel, ^ being mapped to [). Same goes for ä ë
Re:Government Spending (Score:1)
What usually annoy me even more is govs using proprietary format to publish public data! You need a pdf reader or word to read a public document or worse gov websites that do not work properly without Java or Flash or even IE.
This is mainly a problem with small cities' and towns' websites and especially tourists' offices more than with the
Re:Government Spending (Score:1)
Re:Government Spending (Score:2)
If you are a manager of a pile of shit, the only thing better is a BIGGER pile of shit. If you can save money, it means that your slice of the pie is reduced next year. Both in relative and absolute terms.
A bigger department with more money is what a manager wants. More money means more kickbacks from those you throw it at.
Saving money is dangerous to personal and professional status. F/OSS doesn't stand a snowflakes ch
Re:Government Spending (Score:1)
Would this ultimately prove to be better value for you than buying a new car every few years, paying insurance and petrol, etcetera?
Probably not - you don't have time to cycle 50 miles every day, you don't want to get wet when it rains, et cetera. So the pay solution is better than the free one. Can easily happen. MS would like to convince you that training people to use OSS is expensive, t
Re:Government Spending (Score:2)
That should actually be a more or less unexisting argument for a government. It may be considered, but should be nowhere near major priority, and the Peruvian government seems to have well understood this fact [theregister.co.uk].
Everything around the code is not free.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe there's money to be saved in the long run. But in the short run, the current solutions are c
Re:Everything around the code is not free.. (Score:2)
And I've often wondered how much IT time and money could be saved if we trained users in the first pla
Re:Everything around the code is not free.. (Score:2)
Re:Everything around the code is not free.. (Score:1)
Support, training, and custom development is not free. But neither is it cheap from a vendor.
Re:Government Spending (Score:2)
Because the "free, standards based alternative" isn't as good, or costs more ?
Circulation of government money (Score:2)
I fully agree that this may not be the right time or place for a government to spend, and as others have pointed out, free software doesn't necessarily mean free. That aside, though, excessive government spending is not unusual and it's not always unjustified. I think the situation's at least slightly more complicated than you make out, however.
In tec
Hang on a sec.. (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/0,200006173
Someone please clue in the rest of the gov'ts (Score:5, Interesting)
Access to source code also reduces the risk of vendor lock-in.
MS bashing aside, this is the real issue. If you like MS software and it does the job for you, then go ahead and use it if that is what you want. The problem I have is when some government agency makes their public record information available only in Word or Publisher format. (I know OOo does word, but that is not the point). Once governments push for truly open data interchange standards, industry will follow and the sky is the limit.
Simply look at the history of telecommunications and the early years of the automotive industry before things like ITU and SAE standards were around. It was a dismal place for consumers and businesses. That is the current state of the IT industry. It is a patchwork of incompatible and proprietary lock in devices.
I completely agree. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm certainly an OSS advocate, however, I consider open data formats to be even more important, in particular for government use.
Re:Someone please clue in the rest of the gov'ts (Score:1)
Check out Xena at http://xena.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net] as well.
Disclaimer: I work for them, but not in the section working on this
OSS as only acceptable choice ? (Score:5, Insightful)
Unreadable in xpdf? (Score:1)
-ReK
Been there... done that... (Score:2, Interesting)
you can find a lot of stuff in http://www.softwarelivre.gov.br/documentos/ [softwarelivre.gov.br]
Several documents go way back to 2003 !!!!
Re:Been there... done that... discussed on /. (Score:2, Informative)
Nobody, that is, except these Slashdot contributers:
But other than that, nobody ever mentioned anything.
So did Québec (Score:1, Informative)
The U.S. government has been using & making OS (Score:5, Interesting)
I also know that my local city govenment (Bakersfield, CA) is using Firefox. (although they still leave shortcuts for IE). To further make my point... quit assuming that US govenment agencies are not considering OSS. Even Redmond,WA (until recently) was using linux servers. I would love to know how many MS employees have Firefox on their desktops.
What other TLA's are using OSS/Linux?
Lucid thoughts @ 3am / Spelling doesn't count! (Score:1)
Re:The U.S. government has been using & making (Score:1)
Well, I tried to read the guide... (Score:2)
Re:Well, I tried to read the guide... (Score:2)
Re:Well, I tried to read the guide... (Score:2)
Typical (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Typical (Score:3, Insightful)
ash
actually (Score:2, Informative)
Contrast that small influx of people to the Australian system where 162,000 criminals were imported.
Interestingly, the purpose of this lone penal colony was actually not to get rid of criminals (like the australian migra
Re:Typical (Score:1)
State Governments Still Lagging Behind (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:State Governments Still Lagging Behind (Score:2, Interesting)
Because these kinds of reports are prepared by Public Servant underlings (who are often liberal) not the Liberal (conservative) political powers at the top of the government. If any high-ranking Liberal politician got wind of this, it would be killed in an instant, at the insistence of Microsoft.
Re:State Governments Still Lagging Behind (Score:2)
Re:State Governments Still Lagging Behind (Score:1)
But this is inconsistent with your comment about the Liberals runnning the country like a company. If they were being rational, and only about cost/benefit ratios - then why do the Liberals have their tongue wedged so far up Bill Gates' arse? there's no way the Liberals would r
Re:State Governments Still Lagging Behind (Score:2)
Re:State Governments Still Lagging Behind (Score:1)
Headache (Score:4, Interesting)
I can report that I've been using PHP, Perl, the Sablotron XSLT parser and other FOSS tools in the service of AGIMO for the last couple of years. I even develop in Emacs. AGIMO and the AusGov in general are quite amenable to open source s/w. They even have no particular objection to me open-sourcing the tools I've produced at work, like the XBlurb text parser and the Xenolith site engine -- not that I have, since neither of them is particularly interesting, but the willingness is there.
Meanwhile, AGIMO is getting in bed an awful, awful content mismanagement system, which I'm doing my best to avoid. It's not all good news. But it's a long way from a single vendor, thank the gods.
Re:Headache (Score:1)
Re:Headache (Score:2)
Ye gods. I just had a look through the MySource Matrix site, and... well, going purely by the ludicruous tiny-unreadable-text-image buttons and the spelling and grammar errors all over the place, I'd say that it looks like crap. :)
Their "license" is even sillier. I hope it's not accepted as a valid "open source" license by OSI, that compulsory-copyright-acquisition clause is insidious and nasty.
Plone... yeah, Plone is pretty weird. Powerful, quite flexible, and as long as you don't want to do anythin
Will the ATO change? (Score:1)
According to the person I shared a cab with the ATO (Australian Tax Office) is a big M$ shop with an almost permanent staff of visiting Redmond Monkeys(tm).
Yeah it's hearsay, but, you know, my tax dollars at work...
"balanced overview" ... oh really? (Score:2, Insightful)
"... however, liability in open source is still a glaring issue in comparison to proprietary counterparts, with most licenses including the popular GPL explicitly disclaiming any warranty and liability on behalf of the authors."
Re:"balanced overview" ... oh really? (Score:1, Insightful)
What would you propose the document said instead? "There is nothing notably wrong with OSS. You should all use OSS, because it is obvious that OSS is better than propietary solutions. You don't need facts."?
I call zealot - open source is generally a good thing and I support it, but ignoring the facts is as bad as (if not worst, as you would be a hypocrite) a mindless closed-source advocat
Parent NOT insightful--just dumb. (Score:1)
Re:"balanced overview" ... oh really? (Score:1)
If the OSS package screws up and loses your data, then you can't do anything.
If the MS package screws up and loses your data, then you _might_ be able to get some recompense, although in practice you'd better be a big company willing to spend a lot on landsharks.
Wrong! (Score:1)
MS's recompense is capped at $5.
Send me the money! (Score:3, Insightful)
There's a lot of adverts on TV and in the paper about the government caring about "small businesses" (hahaha, sorry, I'm laughing already) and wanting local "innovation" - I say it's a load of bollocks. I've approached several different government departments about getting grants/loans/funding/support for extending my existing software business (of which over 90% of its income is exports!) and all they ever end up doing is either dissapearing in the night or saying "sorry, you're too small" or "sorry, you're too successful".
Paul.
Hooray, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
As a programmer and hardware salesman/repairman I've seen and dealt with open source as well as MS solutions in both the home and office, long and short term.
I will say that the price of Microsoft software is pretty outrageous, almost the same as the hardware if you want the whole shebang. (Then again, try buying enough MYOB functionality to run a shop, that will set you back a pretty penny
Some free software is fantastic, in fact in many cases the free stuff is superior in various ways.
Some users will NEVER get the hang of Open Office. "It's just all too differenty to Word".
It's good to see a worldwide push towards this sort of software model because it will drive prices down and functionality up.
The question still remains whether or not these government departments (or anyone) will benefit in the long term. One thing I can tell you is that in Australia getting some guy to fix your XP box will cost about $35/hr whereas a really hopeless Linux administrator will cost about $75. In a 'regional' area like Newcastle you'll have a hard time finding a guy who can install Debian.
("Debbie who?")
I think it will depend on what these people are doing, and how often they normally have to call the 'computer guy' (me).
this.mod(-2, "RAMBLING");
Aaron.
Re:Hooray, but... (Score:2)
Um, this is just plain dumb? Have you ever been to Newcastle? It's a fair sized city - or are you suggesting the people in these user groups haven't heard of Debian? Newky Uni Group [newcastle.edu.au], Central Coast UG [borgs.net]
Re:Hooray, but... (Score:2)
It'd most definitely have quite a few linux admins, especially attending the uni of Newcastle.
source [citypopulation.de]
Re:Hooray, but... (Score:2)
Why do you think techs love Linux so much, if not for this reason alone? Makes your life easier through lack of licensing encumberance, AND diverts budget from Microsoft to Payroll. How can we not love it?
Re:Hooray, but... (Score:2)
>you is that in
>Australia getting some guy
>to fix your XP box will
>cost about $35/hr whereas a really hopeless Linux
>administrator will cost
>about $75. In a 'regional'
>area like Newcastle you'll
>have a hard time finding
>a guy who can install Debian.
>("Debbie who?")
This does not surprise me at all. Australia is a wonderful place to live in a great many respects...but from the perspective of all things IT, living in this country is a source
Software Overboard (Score:2)
For those not following the constant stream of bullshit coming from Canberra, this is a half-arsed shot at the claim that won the Liberals the previous election: "They're throwing their children overboard".
Jokes aside, the federal government doesn't have a shred of social conscience in them, and a small donation from Billy G will put an end to this lunacy. Mark my words.
Re:Software Overboard (Score:2, Insightful)
For those who haven't worked in an Australian government IT section before, it's a different world to the private industry. T
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:1)
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:1)
PDF is an open format, anyone can write a PDF reader.
Yep... Just read the PDF Reference [adobe.com] (1236 pages), and implement everything. Nothing hard, right?
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:2)
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:2)
There are also free PDF writers - PDFLatex, the PDF printer for Openoffice, the KDE PDF printers, ps2pdf etc.
I have prefered to circulate documents in PDF ever since a time when I used to get a daily email that usually came as a PDF but would occasionally come as a Word doc, the former looked much more polished.
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:1)
I also prefer PDF for this reason, it looks smoother and I know it's going to look right pretty much every time for the person viewing it. With docs and Word/Wordpad/Ooo it seems they always render different results and overall does not look as nice.
Over the last 6 months I have applied to many jobs us
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:1)
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:2)
That is primarily the reason for some companies wanting only a word doc. They don't have to do a lot of work to "personalize" the resume.
S
Re:Oh the Irony! (Score:2)
Re:maintenance fees (Score:1)
Re:maintenance fees (Score:2)
A) Current COTS developers switch to an OSS model, and make their money through maintenance (By having some sort of "Authorized" system, or other BS way of passing the costs up the chain).
B) Governments not just procuring established OSS projects, but funding the development of new ones.
C) The "old guard" of interests be unsuccessful in convincing legislators to waste money on their products; or if they rea
Re:Wow! (Score:1)
Re:great, but not reality (Score:2)
Fake latin plus some Ws and dots (Score:2)