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U.N. report says open source produces better software (OpenSector)
The United Nations
has concluded
that better software comes from the open-source development model.
"The report says that OSS software is better for four primary reasons:
More people looking for defects means more defects are found and fixed.
Free from marketing considerations, developers release more fixes and improvements, more often.
Proprietary software does not guarantee quality, in order to avoid legal liability.
Source code availability allows users to fix, customize or improve on their own."
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Free and open-source software: Implications for ICT policy and development Posted Jan 30, 2004 23:57 UTC (Fri) by coriordan (subscriber, #7544) [Link] Although not without it's glitches ("In 1994 Torvalds released the official GNU/Linux version 1.0"), it's worth a read. It's mostly stuff that we'd all know, but on pages 26 & 27 there's a list the FOSS policies of various developing countries.Very useful for anyone talking to government bodies about free software.
Free and open-source software: Implications for ICT policy and development Posted Jan 31, 2004 2:17 UTC (Sat) by set (guest, #4788) [Link] I dont see the glitch in your quote: 1.0 came out in 1994.(0.01 came out in 1991). Perhaps I am missing somethine else?
Free and open-source software: Implications for ICT policy and development Posted Jan 31, 2004 2:38 UTC (Sat) by xanni (subscriber, #361) [Link] "GNU/Linux" can be used to refer to a Linux distribution which contains GNU software running on the Linux kernel. Linus Torvalds has never released such a distribution in 1994 or at any other time; he only releases the Linux kernel itself, which does not contain GNU code (though it is licensed under the GPL). The kernel itself should NOT be referred to as "GNU/Linux". This may just be an overenthusiastic search-and-replace error.Hope that helps,
Free and open-source software: Implications for ICT policy and development Posted Jan 31, 2004 2:41 UTC (Sat) by coriordan (subscriber, #7544) [Link] The dates for Torvalds' release is correct, but he only released Linux, not the whole OS.Probably just an accident, the rest of the report is quite accurate.
Free and open-source software: Implications for ICT policy and development Posted Jan 31, 2004 21:40 UTC (Sat) by hingo (subscriber, #14792) [Link] So maybe RMS should call them up and sayRMS: "Hey, you shouldn't call it GNU/Linux, it's just Linux, otherwise you'll hear from me!" UN: "But wasn't it you who told us to..." Life is confusing sometimes, if you really try henrik
Uh oh Posted Jan 31, 2004 5:26 UTC (Sat) by edgewood (subscriber, #1123) [Link] I was convinced of the superiority of the open development model, but if the UN thinks so, too, maybe I'd better rethink... <g>
Uh oh Posted Jan 31, 2004 21:38 UTC (Sat) by hingo (subscriber, #14792) [Link] Well, the UN is anti-american, just like Linux. What would you expect!;-) henrik, always giving americans a hard time... in a friendly way.
Uh oh Posted Jan 31, 2004 23:00 UTC (Sat) by XERC (guest, #14626) [Link] Considering the fact, that the UN was an empty place, when the Iraqwar started(UN's opinion didn't mean a thing to the U.S. president, G.W.Bush), and considering the fact, that the UN was silent when Estonia and other Baltic States were occupyed by the former Soviet Union, then I think that the UN is a pretty meaningless and powerless organization. Let's say, that the UN is just some kind of a formality or a nice show for leaving the public some nice, fake, impression that things are somewhat under control at the international level. I find the open source development model(though my dayjob is to develop a closed source program) to be the best and not just from the software's point of view. I use only free(dom compatiable) software at home, though I have a Windows license. I'm going to release all my hobby projects under GPL, after I get them to some usable state, but I certainly don't take the various reports, or other documents, released by the U.N., too seriously. Oh, and by the way, I don't support Sadam. As a matter of fact, I'm glad that this dictator was kicked off it's throne, even if the assertions regarding to some, whaterver, weapons was a fully made up story. It's just that, in this posting, I'm talking about, and making conclusions about, the U.N.. Regards,
Uh oh Posted Jan 31, 2004 23:29 UTC (Sat) by coriordan (subscriber, #7544) [Link] I certainly don't take the various reports, or other documents, released by the U.N., too seriously.It's not meant to be taken seriously by you. The report is written for people that don't know what free software is, most readers of LWN will find little or no new info in the report. The report is important though, because it really strengthens our position when talking to politicians about free software.
Uups Posted Feb 1, 2004 15:43 UTC (Sun) by XERC (guest, #14626) [Link] Uups, I admit that I didn't get the point at first.I agree that some positive press releases from a widely known
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