[Klug-general] Open Source Petition @ No 10 Website

[Mike Evans]

Interesting proposition.  I was just about to sign it and then I started 
thinking.

So we think that software written to drive defence mechanisms should be 
available for all to download on the Internet?  As a Quaker I would love 
to live in a world where this was not an issue.  What a pity that the 
statement is not more carefully worded.

Like many in the Open Source community I am saddened and irritated by 
our government's use of proprietary software and data formats, and the 
assumption that I will use it also.  I receive disks from the tax office 
which would help my business which are useless as they assume that I run 
MS Windows or a Mac OS.  Video and audio information on government 
websites is encoded using formats that I cannot access with open source 
codecs.

Equally, I know that there are times when software is developed or 
redeveloped unnecessarily.  This even happens in the open source 
community - but it is truly regrettable that systems developed 
internally by one hospital are not freely available to another.  It is 
possible that requiring some form of open licence would encourage 
behaviour resulting in considerable cost saving to the taxpayer.  (i.e. me!)

Is it churlish of me to think that Stephen Hill would gain more support 
- including mine - if he had been just a little more careful with his 
wording?  (To say nothing of his spelling.)

Mike

James Dayborn wrote:
> After the recent publicity about the road pricing petition I thought I'd
> take a quick look at the No 10 site and came across this petition abut
> OSS in government.
> 
> Thought some of us might be interested.
> 
> James
> 
> 
> http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Open-IT-projects/
> 
> 
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