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I've personally seen the Dutch government spend millions implementing open source software. This was something that could've been fixed for a fraction using a c

by donkeyd 10y ago

I've personally seen the Dutch government spend millions implementing open source software. This was something that could've been fixed for a fraction using a closed source solution. After a couple of years, the project was canceled and the closed source solution was implemented anyway. I'm not saying that using OSS is a bad thing. I don't, however, think that 'OSS only' is the solution to the problem at hand.

lucb1e 10y ago
More background please? Because unless they were cutting corners in a huge way (probably security-wise), I don't see how open source would be so much more expensive than closed source. The statement that "[it] could've been fixed for a fraction using closed source" seems very weird since there are no fundamental differences in how one writes open or closed source code.
- donkeyd 10y ago
  They were implementing an ESB. There wasn't any internal knowledge on it, so they had started a joint venture with a business that provided consultants. For some reason (not exactly sure why), the project went past its deadline by about 2 years. My own employer at the time also provided an ESB, though it was closed source. We had a lot of experience with the product, and therefore could've implemented it quickly and for a fraction of the price (like we'd done before). Unfortunately, no information on this is available online, for reasons I understand. When they canceled the project, apparently they ended up hiring my employer anyway.
bluehazed 10y ago
All this means is that new implementations of software created by contractors will required to be licensed differently than before (with an OSS license), so that contracted work is able to be audited by the public.
- donkeyd 10y ago
  To me, it seems like this is not just about software created by contractors: > develop, upgrade or implementation of information systems and e-services Implementation infers that also OOTB software should be open source. To me this could lead to forced use of inferior OSS, or to costly implementations of OSS where there are only few experts.

by donkeyd 10y ago

lucb1e 10y ago

More background please? Because unless they were cutting corners in a huge way (probably security-wise), I don't see how open source would be so much more expensive than closed source. The statement that "[it] could've been fixed for a fraction using closed source" seems very weird since there are no fundamental differences in how one writes open or closed source code.

donkeyd 10y ago
They were implementing an ESB. There wasn't any internal knowledge on it, so they had started a joint venture with a business that provided consultants. For some reason (not exactly sure why), the project went past its deadline by about 2 years. My own employer at the time also provided an ESB, though it was closed source. We had a lot of experience with the product, and therefore could've implemented it quickly and for a fraction of the price (like we'd done before). Unfortunately, no information on this is available online, for reasons I understand. When they canceled the project, apparently they ended up hiring my employer anyway.

bluehazed 10y ago

All this means is that new implementations of software created by contractors will required to be licensed differently than before (with an OSS license), so that contracted work is able to be audited by the public.

donkeyd 10y ago
To me, it seems like this is not just about software created by contractors: > develop, upgrade or implementation of information systems and e-services Implementation infers that also OOTB software should be open source. To me this could lead to forced use of inferior OSS, or to costly implementations of OSS where there are only few experts.