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Linux in Government: Outside the US, People Get It (Linux Journal)

[Posted July 18, 2005 by cook]

Linux Journal looks at the spread of Linux around the world. "Interestingly, the US government appears to favor a company it deemed a monopoly over Linux and open-source software. While technically educated Linux and open-source work forces have grown in Germany, China, Brazil, India and Hungary since 2001, the US government has done nothing to keep pace with the rest of the world. Only a decade ago, the US held a technological edge over Europe and Asia in all areas of IT. Today, the once burgeoning IT industry in the US has given way to its competitors, especially China and India."

(Log in to post comments)

Posted Jul 18, 2005 16:37 UTC (Mon) by smitty_one_each (subscriber, #28989) [Link]

>US government appears to favor a company it deemed a monopoly over Linux and open-source software.
Speculate, if you will, on the amount of MSFT in the portfolios of senior US Government decision-makers.
Consider whether those perfectly legal shares prejudice decisions.

Linux in Government: Outside the US, People Get It (Linux Journal)

Posted Jul 19, 2005 1:43 UTC (Tue) by dang (subscriber, #310) [Link]

It isn't often that. Some of it is a result of territorial IT units that fear change or loss of control ( because of apathy or ignorace ). There are some great people in government service, but IT is often a matter of mid-level personal politics and butt-covering. Some of it is also financial. It is hard to get approval to spend small amounts of money even when there are long term cost savings; and you *can't* spend small amounts because any change of any sort leads to huge expenditures for training ( never good, always expense, often mandatory ).

I once worked for a Fed. Department whose internal units were split between M$Office and Corel. So we had to have *both* office suites installed. And we *had* to have training for both as well. Not to mention that a certain high placed official would only use Word Perfect 5.0, so we had to work with that as well. All to produce documents with formatting requirements that could have been satisfied by html2.0 at a time when there were good, open source, wysiwyg html4.0 editors about. Don't even ask me about the internal networks. Or the hardware. "Running too many feet of cat5 and need a switch? Too bad. Here, have a used 10baseT hub."

This wasn't about back room between elected officials and the software industry, and near as I can tell, this is the typical case.

Linux in Government: Outside the US, People Get It (Linux Journal)

Posted Jul 18, 2005 17:24 UTC (Mon) by huffd (guest, #10382) [Link]

Gasp! Someone with a true insight to the current situation!

Most people are so dumbed down and brainwashed that they fail to see the problem as it is.

"Finally, one might consider that by destroying its competitors, Microsoft has weakened the US technology sector rather than strengthening it. Look around and we see a technology sector suffering so badly that US universities have seen enrollment in computer sciences drop to nil. Additionally, the once well-trained US information technology workforce has aged, moved into other industries and suffered from the influx of foreign competitors."

For those needing explaination.
1.) You cannot compete with M$ directly in the US, hence there is little impetus. Followed by:
a.) Like in another comment as long as the congressman's wallet is being stuffed "they" can afford to turn a blind eye toward the monopoly.
2.) The last sentence above actually perpetuates the second sentence. Because there is so much foreign competition, enrollment at universities has fallen.
3.) Third and lastly is my biggest bit*** (complaint) we're a nation of wealthy. A 2 year old computer is discarded on the tree-line. Because for $1400 at Wal-Mart I can get a [really nice] new one.

Americans are dummed down because (let me state this politically correct) they have learned to live with their excesses. Meaning I'll pay someone else to write crappy, bug infested software so I don't have to think and if the thing catches 31 viruses and my aDSL or cable line is always busy for some unknown reason and I keep getting hate mail for spam I never sent. Duh, Oh well??? Wal-Mart is only 5.6 miles away for me...

Now if you're seriously interested in learning about using Linux, I'm available. Otherwise I'm sure the freak that downloaded from your computer the pictures of your wife from your 5th anniversary, thanks you.

Linux in Government: Outside the US, People Get It (Linux Journal)

Posted Jul 18, 2005 19:40 UTC (Mon) by zlynx (subscriber, #2285) [Link]

"Meaning I'll pay someone else to write crappy, bug infested software so I don't have to think ..."

I think you're missing the point of having an economy. Of course we pay other people to do things that we're not good at. The alternative would be to do everything ourselves. Even people living as hunter-gatherer nomads specialize.

Linux in Government: Outside the US, People Get It (Linux Journal)

Posted Jul 18, 2005 20:06 UTC (Mon) by allesfresser (subscriber, #216) [Link]

I think his point was that Americans tend not to care how much their excesses cost anyone else. To put it another way, Americans tend to be (in this regard) extremely narcissistic and callous. Microsoft's software does annoy them, but only enough for them to do some low-level whining, not enough to find an alternative. And that's probably what Microsoft depends on...keeping their profits up by only spending just enough to keep people from jumping ship.