… and a lot about open source in this review, from Korea! The writer is a little behind the times in referring to “nineteen Members of Parliament” - 116 MPs have now signed the Early Day Motion.
From thoughtless comments on mailing lists to outright rudeness, women constantly battle the perception that there is no comfortable place for them in the predominately male world of open source software.
That, however, may be beginning to change.
There is a long way to go: according to a FLOSSPOLS survey in 2002 on gender within the […]
With Gartner predicting a “new wave” of open source software of great use to businesses, new research suggests 95% of the top 2000 companies in the world will have an open source procurement and management strategy by 2008.
Companies are attracted by the low cost, but the availability of technical support is still raising concerns within […]
*update* - the post originally linked to the wrong article on The Guardian’s site; it’s since been corrected. Apologies.
The Guardian today reports on the results of a series of case studies conducted by the Open Source Academy on the deployment of open source software in the local government sector . Although grandly claiming that “the […]
The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) issued a briefing paper last week to all universities in the UK aimed at raising awareness of open source software. One of the authors - Sebastien Rahtz of OSS-Watch, an information site for further and higher education institutions - said “Including open source as an option in ICT keeps […]
An OSDL-funded independent survey - cheekily entitled “Get the Truth” - looking at the use of OSS by IT organisations has concluded that Linux is both cheaper and easier to deploy and maintain than Microsoft software. EMA, who conducted the survey, contacted thousands of organisations using OSS and mixed solutions to interview their CIOs and […]
From Silicon Republic:
More than two out of five Irish organisations will use some form of open source software (OSS) in 2006, a report claims.
According to estimates from the Dublin-based technology research firm iReach, more than 40pc of Irish organisations across a range of industry sectors will implement OSS in their business this year.
iReach […]
Heise.de and ZDNet both have articles on the extraordinary revelation that an Austrian Microsoft representative had references to open source software deleted from a UN document presented to the WSIS on the grounds that free software is anti-commercial.
The original text read…
Increasingly, revenue is generated not by selling content and digital works, as they can be […]
From ZDNet:
Open source communities really do help coders reduce the turnaround time for bug fixes, according to Evans Data
Open source developers can use developer communities to track down bugs and fix them in a surprisingly short time — less than four business hours, in many cases, according to the latest survey from Evans Data.
The findings […]
More interesting pro-OSS arguments from down under. CyberSource.com.au has a white paper pointing out something fairly obvious: Microsoft’s monopoly, particularly their deals with hardware retailers, results in the Aussie economy hemorrhaging vast amounts of money in the direction of Redmond.
In a further development, Linux World Australia is reporting that CyberSource are using the white paper […]
A textbook example of the spinning of statistics; same story, same set of figures, same details, different headlines:
“Windows wipes floor with Linux” - Techworld
“Linux drives worldwide server sales boom” - VNUNet
“Microsoft nose-to-nose with Unix server rivals” - The Register
“Microsoft server software challenges Linux offerings” - Computer World
“Linux server sales march on” – OSDir
The BBC News site has posted this article on their site, concerning the recent report from BECTA.
“Microsoft” is mentioned twice before the phrase “open source” is and more frequently, despite the fact, as the article points out, that the report doesn’t mention the company once;
The article gives 3 unquestioning paragraphs to a Microsoft spokesman and […]
The much anticipated report from BECTA was out on Friday. If you want to see what all the fuss was about, and make up your own mind about it, you can read the report here (PDF format).
The only reference we’ve found so far in the mainstream media is in this column in the Observer by […]
Microsoft rubbishes [BECTA] open source report”.
Meanwhile, “Schoolforge UK and the Open Source Consortium welcome Becta report into the total cost of ownership of ICT in schools”.
The flood of stories about that BECTA report is showing no sign of abating. Here are a few more:
“UK Schools ‘Wasting Millions’ on Microsoft” - Linux Insider
“British schoolkids overcharged for software” - PCPro
“Kids, meet Linux, your new operating system!” - Softpedia
“Open source could slash school IT bills, says government” - Silicon.com
[…]
From the FT.
A survey commissioned by the FT found that more than 60 per cent of UK local authorities intended to increase their use of open source.
Microsoft faces pressure across Europe over its software pricing, which leaves public bodies facing huge bills for upgrading the Windows program.
Other countries are considering their options and could use […]
…on eGov. The upcoming government report from the agency for ICT in education is expected to find that schools can save “significant amounts” by switching to OSS.
Before you get too excited, have a look at this article on ZDNet, criticising the UK public sector for its slow uptake of OSS “despite … real open source […]