Hi
I have just come across
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2809001,00.html?chkpt=zdnnp1tp01
A recent global wave of legislation is compelling government
agencies, and in some cases government-owned companies, to use
open-source or free software unless proprietary software is the
only feasible option.
This legal movement, earliest and most pronounced in Brazil, but
also showing signs of catching on elsewhere in Latin America,
Europe and Asia, is finding ready converts as governments struggle
to close sometimes vast digital divides with limited
information-technology budgets. So far, there is no evidence that
similar legislation is being considered anywhere in the United
States, experts said.
<SNIP>
But behind the obvious reasons for the move to open-source and free
software are more subtle issues. One of the overriding drivers
behind legislation, experts said, appears to be a desire to break
free of the United States' lock on the global software market.
<SNIP>
This is quite interesting in view of the Federal Govt and various State
govts penchant for signing huge deals with Microsoft.
-- Robert Hart hartr@redhat.com Red Hat Asia-Pacific, Unit 15, 23 James St, Brisbane, Qld 4006, Australia Tel +61 (0)7 3872 4808 Fax +61 (0)7 3257 4800
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