Slashdotted : ForeignPolicy.com takes a look at Open Source as it applies to governments and some of the reasons that a governing body may or may not like OSS. From the article:
Governments around the world are enchanted by open-source software. Unlike proprietary software, for which the code is kept secret, the open-source variety can be copied, modified, and shared. […] Trouble is, the benefits of open source are not always so clear-cut. Software is too complicated a creation to be captured in rhetoric, and assertions about some of the technical benefits of open source fail to tell the whole story.
What is the most important issue that will make governments don’t choose open source ? Security, Cost, Usability, or maybe the marketing of the product ? The article pointed to some interesting experience : In 2002, Finland estimated that it could save 26 million euros a year by having state agencies switch to Linux. These are real numbers and very significant for those looking for experience to make decisions.
