GovExec.com: More Agencies Pick Open Source Software

“Just five years ago, programmers who understood the value of
using collaborative, open source software as a foundation for
developing federal applications had to use the software
surreptitiously. At that time, open source software was the
bailiwick of programmers hidden away in back rooms – programmers
who understood that using open source software could cut costs,
speed development and improve performance. Back then, using
anything but off-the-shelf software for application development
wasn’t widely accepted or understood. After all, commercial
software was a known quantity, perceived as more reliable and
secure than open source software, which just about anyone could
customize.

“Slowly but surely, federal CIOs have begun to see the benefits
of using open source software. Prime examples include the Linux
operating system, the Apache Web server, the Mozilla Firebird
browser, and MySQL and PostgreSQL, open source relational databases
that use standard Structured Query Language…”

Complete
Story