Great comments Andrew. We need a model where we have Europe's support of open source with the United State's open data policies.
Landon Office Phone Number: (209) 946-0268 Cell Phone Number: (209) 992-0658 -----Original Message----- From: discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Turner Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 9:58 AM To: punk...@eidesis.org; OSGeo Discussions Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] OSGeo friendly countries to live in On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 10:53 AM, P Kishor<punk.k...@gmail.com> wrote: > My feeling is (_feeling_, not an assertion backed by evidence) that > the US govt. agencies stay out of supporting or not supporting any > particular kind of software or technology. They use what they think is > best, without creating a policy out of it, and generally let the > provider and the consumer of technologies duke it out. Of course, I > have no scientific evidence for this statement. But the proliferation > of Canadian Blackberries in the US Senate and House is a fairly decent > reflection of this. While things are getting better - mandates pushing open data, nominally open standards, and trying to build better procurement of Open-Source technology, lobbying rules much. For a solid example, see how GIS Standards as dictated by local governments: http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/5599-Oregon-ESRI-ELA-and-the-Legis lation-Behind-It.html & http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/rules/OARS_100/OAR_125/125_600.html I think Landon covered it well - many varied stakeholders, from software vendors, to support contracts, training, constituencies, legacy, funding (retooling) that prevent changing from what's currently in place. But it doesn't have to be this way. So as much as the US Federal government is a model to other governments in the benefits of sharing data - the more other governments adopt open-source & open-standards, the more the US will be pressured to do the same. :) Andrew _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss Warning: Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
