| Summary: | The article focuses on the popularity of open source software such as the Linux open-source operating system. In May 2003, the city of Munich decided to oust Microsoft Windows from the 14,000 computers used by local-government employees in favour of Linux. Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, interrupted his holiday in Switzerland to visit Munich and lobby the mayor. Microsoft even dropped its prices to match Linux--a remarkable feat since Linux is essentially free and users merely purchase support services alongside it. City officials said the decision was a matter of principle: the municipality wanted to control its technological destiny. It did not wish to place the functioning of government in the hands of a commercial vendor with proprietary standards which is accountable to shareholders rather than to citizens. Across the globe, governments are turning to open-source software which, unlike proprietary software, allows users to inspect, modify and freely redistribute its underlying programming instructions. Scores of national and state governments have drafted legislation calling for open-source software to be given preferential treatment in procurement. Other countries are funding open-source software initiatives outright. In Microsoft's case, security flaws in its software, such as those exploited by the recent Blaster and SoBig viruses, are a cause of increasing concern. If Microsoft is indeed squeezed out of the government sector by open-source software, three groups stand to benefit: large consultancy firms and systems integrators, such as IBM, which will be called in to devise and install alternative products.
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