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On 26/02/11 10:21, Eion MacDonald wrote:
On 26/02/2011 09:53, James Kilty wrote:Hello I just came across this. I find it a bit too opaque - could someone explain it in simple language - will this lead to greater use of FLOSS? Is the EU now less open? http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20110225075112254Simple: - EU abandoned its rigid definition of 'royalty free' so EU is less FOSS friendly. - UK restates a rigid definition unless the Government Department has a "> “clear business reasons why this is inappropriate.”
That bit I thought I understood until I kept on reading.
Particularly if is what they use now via the supplier of Gov Depts and there is no requirement for open document standard.Unfortunately many a good departmental secretary can drive many coaches and teams of horses through this exemption, if they draft a "department is inoperable under current legislation unless we use XXX software as this is only software our staff have been trained to use" memo.
Best solution I have seen implemented* is if department wants to use proprietary software total initial and recurring licence costs must come from salary pot of top ten executives in department. i.e a negative bonus! It sorts out the real costs and why! *non UK state where budget constraints were enforced.
What a good idea! James -- James Kilty http://www.kilty.demon.co.uk http://unitycontrol.co.uk -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq