[ Thanks to Christopher Parker for this
link. ]
“Governments in Massachusetts are increasingly dependent on
software to operate. Citizens access important services via the
Internet, and critical public documents are now digitally archived.
Buying new software isn’t like buying new desks and chairs for the
office anymore. The makers of software now exert substantial
control over how government operates.“Most software currently used by Massachusetts governments is
like a black box. It’s proprietary, which means that the government
and its citizens are not allowed to look inside the box to see how
it works. Proprietary software also comes with a set of
restrictions that prevent the software from being modified or
copied without explicit permission…”