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There are discussions on the same topic going on in many governments right now, examining the rules to make sure that open source software can compete on equal

by phugoid 17y ago

There are discussions on the same topic going on in many governments right now, examining the rules to make sure that open source software can compete on equal footing. That's fair. Let the best solution win. I'm surprised that a member of the European Union could write such a non-competitive policy.

electromagnetic 17y ago
"I'm surprised that a member of the European Union could write such a non-competitive policy." You're shitting me right? Over two years ago an EU commission actually stated that switching to open source could offer considerable savings to organizations with little effect on their business. They mentioned there might be a short-term cost increase, but the savings would easily account for it in the long run. So you're surprised that two years after that announcement, the Hungarian government is following the EU's backing of open source. Are you truly that uninformed about Europe? Because that was huge news a couple years ago.
- phugoid 17y ago
  This is not just about following EU recommendations about letting open source solutions compete for procurement contracts. This is about introducing a quota system that is anti-competitive and that may ultimately harm the open source cause. I want to see businesses (and governments) use open source software for a given application when it's the better choice overall, not because of a quota. Edit: my first version was too defensive.
ZeroGravitas 17y ago
I was confused by your comment because limiting software to open-source (or 50% in this case) doesn't strike me as any more non-competitive than any quality or quantity requirement. Any company can compete, they just have to follow the same rules as everyone else. It would be non-competitive if a specific company was mentioned, or a technology that only one company could provide is specified. Unfortunately exactly those things happen every day when it comes to government IT procurement.
- phugoid 17y ago
  Let's say that you applied a 50% open source quota to the atomic energy agency. What if the open source solutions for their specialized needs are quite poor? Would you still insist that they follow the quota? In that situation, I'd prefer they go with 100% proprietary software, even if it doesn't fit with my personal philosophy of software freedom.

by phugoid 17y ago

electromagnetic 17y ago

"I'm surprised that a member of the European Union could write such a non-competitive policy." You're shitting me right? Over two years ago an EU commission actually stated that switching to open source could offer considerable savings to organizations with little effect on their business. They mentioned there might be a short-term cost increase, but the savings would easily account for it in the long run. So you're surprised that two years after that announcement, the Hungarian government is following the EU's backing of open source. Are you truly that uninformed about Europe? Because that was huge news a couple years ago.

phugoid 17y ago
This is not just about following EU recommendations about letting open source solutions compete for procurement contracts. This is about introducing a quota system that is anti-competitive and that may ultimately harm the open source cause. I want to see businesses (and governments) use open source software for a given application when it's the better choice overall, not because of a quota. Edit: my first version was too defensive.

ZeroGravitas 17y ago

I was confused by your comment because limiting software to open-source (or 50% in this case) doesn't strike me as any more non-competitive than any quality or quantity requirement. Any company can compete, they just have to follow the same rules as everyone else. It would be non-competitive if a specific company was mentioned, or a technology that only one company could provide is specified. Unfortunately exactly those things happen every day when it comes to government IT procurement.

phugoid 17y ago
Let's say that you applied a 50% open source quota to the atomic energy agency. What if the open source solutions for their specialized needs are quite poor? Would you still insist that they follow the quota? In that situation, I'd prefer they go with 100% proprietary software, even if it doesn't fit with my personal philosophy of software freedom.