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New policy pushes for open source in California agencies
[...] The California Department of Technology released a letter this week announcing a new policy — called the Open Source and Code Reuse Policy — elevating the use of open source software across state government. Agencies and state entities are asked to develop, purchase or reuse open source software — anything with source code that is publicly available to view, adapt, or reuse — for new IT projects as a first option where it is financially viable. (There are a few exceptions, such as cases that would threaten national or state security.)
The policy is also applied retroactively to existing state-built software, requiring agencies to make such code "broadly available for reuse across state government in a consistent manner." The policy notes that reusing custom-developed code across state agencies "can have significant benefits for taxpayers, including decreasing duplicative costs" and is intended to "promote innovation and collaboration across state government."
Non-open-source software will still be permitted — an official from the California Department of Technology assured StateScoop that the state wants to keep the door open for its vendor partners, but emphasized that open source has value that warrants strong consideration by agencies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 03 2018, @06:25AM (2 children)
... even the Richard Stallmans of the California have been forced to pay for proprietary software.
That's Government, for you: Not just a monopoly. A Violently Imposed Monopoly.
Enjoy yer Freedumbs.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 03 2018, @10:07AM (1 child)
Nothing wrong for paying for proprietary software, any more than my paying someone else to build me a block wall.
Now, what will get my goat is somebody telling me I can't either build or pay to have built a wall that looks like a wall somebody else has made, or telling me that I can't stand in the same spot and take a photo of something just because someone else staked out the spot he stood in and says that I can't stand in that area to take the photo.
I am not for stealing, but I am for free enterprise and competition. Taking someone else's stuff is just flat wrong. But if he has something I want, he does not want to sell it to me at a price I am willing to pay, I feel I am completely within my rights to build one - just like it if that's what I want. But his is his... no contest - and I have no rights whatsoever to that which is his.
Right now, what I see seems tantamount to seeing local fastfood chefs checking up on other chefs... you are putting pepper in the scrambled eggs! You can't do that! Only I can put pepper in scrambled eggs! Its my signature dish and you are in violation of my trade dress! Honorable Congressman! Honorable Senator! Pass Law! Protect my Business Plan!
And Congressmen, being what they are, codify this kinda crap into statutory law.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 03 2018, @11:30AM
Paying for non-free proprietary user-subjugating software with tax dollars is absolutely wrong. Governments, as laughable as it may seem, should be promoting freedom, education, and independence. Since proprietary software is in opposition to all of those things, governments should not use it at all. Instead, they can use existing Free Software or create/improve Free Software as necessary, which would benefit everyone. What do we get when governments are dependent upon large corporations? Nothing good.