Massachusetts In Heart of New Revolution Oct 1, 2003, 18 :00 UTC (23 Talkback[s]) (12867 reads) (Other stories by Eric Raymond)
PRNewswire: Mass. Taxpayers Hurt by Proposed Software Monopoly
"The Council for Citizens Against
Government Waste (CCAGW) today criticized Massachusetts Chief Information
Officer Peter Quinn for his stated intention to move all state and local
government computers to open-source operating systems. The 'Freeware Initiative' will require that all IT expenditures in 2004 and 2005 be made on
an open-source/Linux format. Proprietary vendors will be effectively barred
from competing for state contracts, limiting competition and raising costs.
"'Governor Mitt Romney must put a stop to this boondoggle,' CAGW President Tom Schatz said..."
By Eric Raymond
President, Open Source Inititative
Citizens Against Government Waste should be ashamed of itself. As a
liberty-loving foe of intrusive government, I'm normally sympathetic to
their crusade against bureaucracy and over-regulation. But today, CAGW made the strongest argument I've ever seen for writing them off as mere shills for corporate greed.
CAGW's press release attacking the Massachusetts Freeware
Initiative reads like it was dictated by Microsoft's PR department--complete with a fraudalent assertion that open source is more expensive, and even an attempt to associate open source with the
hideous evils of the Soviet Union and socialism.
CAGW affects to be horrified by what it calls a "Proposed Software Monopoly." Which raises this question: where has CAGW been all these years while Massachusetts taxpayers were being gouged by an actual monopoly?
Massachusetts CIO Peter Quinn is doing his job, ensuring that the government and the people of Massachusetts will no longer be locked into closed formats and closed software and unhealthy dependence on a monopolist. Open government demands open source.
