[ Thanks to Joe Barr
for this link. ]
“In the war between proprietary and free/open-source software in
state and local government over the past two years, Texas has
established itself as ground zero. Texas Senate Bill 1579, for
example, which seeks to ensure that free/open-source software is
given a level playing field when competing with proprietary
products in state agencies, was deemed important enough to recently
get posted by Slashdot.“This week, I’m reporting live from the front lines of three
related battles in that war. I’ll recount a visit with Senator John
Carona, the sponsor of SB 1579. You may be aware that Senator
Carona sponsored the UCITA bill in Texas two years ago, and thereby
hangs a tale.“But first, I’ll update you on two other stories from Texas I’ve
written about previously: the City of Austin’s Enterprise Agreement
with Microsoft and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s
(TDCJ) battle with Microsoft over the same sort of licensing
issues…”