[TriLUG] ROI moving gov to Linux?

[Steve Holton via TriLUG]

I would suggest a different strategy: focus on interfaces rather than
methods.

You could, for example: establish the mandate that the interface must not
be proprietary; No work product shared with, made available to, or subject
to an open records request by the public should require a license[1] to
read. Documents can be created by whatever software is deemed best, but the
end product must be in a common format.

After all, we can't have the government picking the winners now, can we?

So, if some department wants to use MS Office on Windows, and is willing to
waste taxpayer dollars to do so, no problem. But it also means that if they
produce a document that can't be read by OpenOffice and Google G-Suite,
they are in violation of policy and need to reset their default document
format and fix their document.

This policy can be extended to the operating system as well; it's no good
requiring a free (but Windows-only) software app if the citizen has to buy
a Microsoft Windows license anyway.

[1] you'll probably need to start out allowing proprietary, but cost-free
licenses, since most free software is technically licensed software, too.

On Wed, Sep 5, 2018 at 11:08 AM Tim Jowers via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org>
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
>   I agreed to run for Wake County commissioner for Eastern Wake County
> (District 1).  One common question asks how to save money.
>
>   Does anyone have an opinion on the government moving to Linux? Other
> FOSS?
>
> Thanks,
> Tim
> --
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-- 
Steve Holton
sph0lt0n at gmail.com