[Linux-aus] 170 governments plus 20/50 US states have pro-FOSS legislation?

[Leon Brooks]

Oh, and by the way South Africa is now officially one of them...

    http://allafrica.com/stories/200311050590.html

    IN LINE with global trends, the South African government has
    decided to implement open source software where possible
    instead of proprietary products, provided they meet the
    requirements.

    [...]

    This gives the buyer the freedom to change the functionality of
    the software, and he can even release it as a new open-source
    product, says Stephen Owens, director of iLab EOS, which
    provides open source solutions.

    He says about 170 governments now have open source policies,
    including 20 of the US states out of 50, and are now using the
    Linux operating system and open source applications.

    [...]

    The South African government and the Council for Scientific
    and Industrial Research recently launched Project Meraka (a
    Sotho word for shared grazing), a resource centre where
    government departments, companies and individuals will be
    able to obtain neutral open source information, such as
    where to find products and support. 

    It is government's vision for SA to become a real player in
    the global IT software market, in terms of developing open
    source software applications for the rest of the world
    instead of just being a consumer, says Owens.

South Africans have some great words. Now I can describe pigging out on 
a buffet as "oh, that's just meraka" :-)

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