At 18:23 +0000 24/1/07, Chris McKenna wrote:
I've just been pointed to the Number 10 petitions
website where there is
an active petition calling for "the Prime Minister to require that all
publically funded software projects publish source code under a Free
licence."
Whether this will make any difference I have no clue, but some people here
will probably be interested in it.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Open-IT-projects/
You need to be a UK citizen or resident to sign.
--
Chris 'Awkward' McKenna
cmckenna(a)sucs.org
www.sucs.org/~cmckenna
The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes,
but with the heart
Antoine de Saint Exupery
Specifically:
****
Software written using public funds should have it's source code
published under a distribution licence that has been declared Free by
the Free Software Foundation, rather than remaining a closed secret.
This would allow for more of the public to benefit from the
development of the software since the code would be available for
anyone to use and improve. Furthermore, compatibility with other Free
licences (such as the GPL) would promote rapid development and
reduced costs through the reuse of existing code.
An open development model would also allow the public to be more
informed of the progress and quality of these projects, which so
frequently seem to end up severely over budget.
****
I not sure DEFRA, MI5, British Waterways, the Home Office, HM Revenue
and Customs etc will want to publish their source code.
Or did I miss the point?
Gordo
--
"Think Feynman"/////////
http://pobox.com/~gordo/
gordon.joly(a)pobox.com///