I had a chance to catch up with David A. Wheeler, a long-time leader in advising and working with the US government on issues related to open source software. As early as the late 1990s, David was demonstrating why open source software was integral to the US goverment IT architecture, and his personal webpage is a frequently cited source on open standards, open source software, and computer security.
In this interview, we explore the current state of use of open source software by the US government, the challenges of the Federal acquisition system, and what he’s excited about as he looks ahead for open source and government.