With most US state governments and their federal government broke, we could be seeing more of the same decisions described below. Go OSS!
Greg http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2010/01/microsoft_and_o_2. html;jsessionid=GKS4VFMHKWL4XQE1GHOSKHWATMY32JVN?cid=nl_IW_btl_2010-01-19_h Microsoft And Oracle Getting Montana Boot? Posted by Bob Evans <mailto:[email protected]> on Jan 15, 2010 03:09 PM Just two days after California approved open-source software for use in state offices and agencies, Montana's governor has received a request to rip and replace existing statewide contracts with Oracle and Microsoft and instead go with open source. The request came as part of Montana Governor Bryan Schweitzer's request for cost-cutting ideas from Montana citizens, an appeal that generated 70 suggestions in the first 24 hours, reports BillingsGazette.com. The article goes on to list some of the suggestions the governor's office received, and the first two mentioned have to do with IT: . One person suggested replacing computers in state agencies every five years instead of the current four years, a move that could save $3 million. . One person proposed that the state start using free, open-source software instead of paying to keep its contracts with Microsoft <http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_b72e6f46 -0196-11df-8ebb-001cc4c002e0.html> and Oracle. California is pursuing this and has officially accepted open-source software as an "acceptable practice," which could save that state several million dollars. Among some of the other Montana cost-cutting recommendations: lower thermostats in unoccupied offices; launch a state-run health insurance office; require license plates only on the backs of cars instead of front and back; and reduce the number of school administrators. An article on the California CIO's decision to allow open-source software can be found here <http://www.govtech.com/gt/737127> .
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