No subject

Tue Feb 22 18:54:42 UTC 2011

quot;Alpha.gov.uk </a>is a=A0prototype, built in response to some of the ch=
allenges laid down in Martha=92s report. It has=A0two overarching objective=
s:

<ol><li>To test, in public, a prototype of a new, single UK Government webs=
ite.</li><li>To design &amp; build a UK Government website using open, agil=
e,=20
multi-disciplinary product development techniques and technologies,=20
shaped by an obsession with meeting user needs.&quot;</li></ol>There was a =
specific objective to use open-stuff :) This is a tech demo, so who =
knows chances of the site becoming a reality. On a side note, one th=
ing that I have not seen is any mention of creating a community around thes=
e open technologies developed, as having a healthy community IMHO is key to=
 getting good value (this applies to closed and open source on-going produc=
ts/projects). 
 Cheers, Nick <div class=3D"gmail_quote">On 12 May 2011 11:04=
, Alice K=E6rast &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:kaerast at computerge=
ntle.com">kaerast at computergentle.com</a>&gt; wrote: <blockquote c=
lass=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;=
padding-left:1ex;">
It&#39;=
s a great site, but it just happens to run on Open Source, I doubt it was a=
 choice made by the government. It&#39;ll be the developers that picked the=
 tools used.

The mix of Python and Ruby strikes me as a litle unusual, I&#39;d imagi=
ne the Django framework was used for the nice admin interface and/or the s=
ubsites were developed by different people. The site itself was deve=
loped incredibly quickly, or at least it wasn&#39;t rumored about til quite=
 late in development. I wonder whether it will become the main government w=
ebsite or will become a huge waste of money for a fun tech demo...

<br>Alice<br><br><br><br><br><hr><span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:=
Tahoma;font-weight:bold">From: </span><span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-fa=
mily:Tahoma;font-weight:normal">Nick Rhodes &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:nick at ngrh=
odes.co.uk" target=3D"_blank">nick at ngrhodes.co.uk</a>&gt;</span><br>

<span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold">Sent: </=
span><span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:normal">1=
2 May 2011 09:20</span><br><span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma=
;font-weight:bold">To: </span><span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:Tah=
oma;font-weight:normal"><a href=3D"mailto:bradford at mailman.lug.org.uk" targ=
et=3D"_blank">bradford at mailman.lug.org.uk</a> &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:bradfor=
d at mailman.lug.org.uk" target=3D"_blank">bradford at mailman.lug.org.uk</a>&gt;=
</span><br>

<span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold">Subject:=
 </span><span style=3D"font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:normal=
">Re: [Bradford] <a href=3D"http://alpha.gov.uk" target=3D"_blank">alpha.go=
v.uk</a></span><br>

<br></span><div><div></div><div class=3D"h5"><br>Lets see if this one gets =
through...<br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On 11 May 2011 15:50, Nick Rhodes =
<span dir=3D"ltr">&lt;<a href=3D"mailto:nick at ngrhodes.co.uk" target=3D"_bla=
nk">nick at ngrhodes.co.uk</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex;border-left-=
color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid" cla=
ss=3D"gmail_quote">

<div><a href=3D"http://alpha.gov.uk/" target=3D"_blank">http://alpha.gov.uk=
/</a></div><div>=A0</div><div>Is this a real start to the Gov using open-so=
urce technologies ?</div><div>=A0</div><div>From <a href=3D"http://blog.alp=
ha.gov.uk/blog/shoulders-of-giants" target=3D"_blank">http://blog.alpha.gov=
.uk/blog/shoulders-of-giants</a> :</div>

<div>=A0</div><div>&quot;<a href=3D"http://Alpha.gov.uk" target=3D"_blank">=
Alpha.gov.uk</a> is built on open source software, including Django, Sinatr=
a, Rails, Ubuntu server and MySQL to name a few.&quot;</div><div>=A0</div><=
div>

Cheers, Nick</div>
</blockquote></div><br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br>

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