[Linux-aus] Has M$ bought off the SA Govt ?

[Leon Brooks]

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 11:32, Con Zymaris wrote:
> On Tue, Jul 15, 2003 at 10:37:16AM +0800, Gary Allpike wrote:
>> http://news.com.au/...

> Fuller version of article here:

> http://australianit.news.com.au/...

AFAICT it's the same article.

> also worth noting is this piece:

> http://www.zdnet.com.au/...

    "We want a process that is not based on automatic preferences,"
    Wendy said.

Yah, sure, Mike, sure... that's why you're working so hard to make 
certain that incumbents who just happen to be your biggest members have 
no particular advantages, isn't it?

I think the politicians often take their eye off the ball in terms of 
who's making the choices which are in such deep contention. With Open 
Source, those choices can be varied right down to the front lines, but 
if the source is closed - unless the individual packages have made 
provision for this in the forms of plugins etc, and even then the 
choices available are often considerably more limited - this field of 
choice is taken away, reserved to a more general level and higher up 
the chain of authority, a long way from where the rubber meets the 
road.

Another misfocus is on the other aspects of freedom in "Free Software". 
With Open Source software, software implementations are much less 
dependent on approval from computer-illiterate finance departments. 
This one factor can eliminate a lot of cost-raising waste and red tape 
from government operation.

I think we need to work hard to broaden the field of enquiry from just 
"can we see the source" - something pretty abstract and removed from 
everyday life for Joe Random Politician - to what can we *really* do 
with this stuff? How much does *this* tie us down in comparison with 
*this*? What does *this* do to our trade-balance/employment/turnover 
compared with *this*.

Reading between the lines, I see the ISC and fellow travellers already 
answering this kind of question with their own propaganda ("8 of 9 
dollars spent with M$ software stays in the country", yadda yadda), and 
we haven't really been _asking_ those questions yet.

Cheers; Leon

-- 
http://cyberknights.com.au/     Modern tools; traditional dedication
http://plug.linux.org.au/       Committee Member, Perth Linux User Group
http://slpwa.asn.au/            Committee Member, Linux Professionals WA
http://linux.org.au/            Committee Member, Linux Australia