http://tlf.disqus.com/The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.enMon, 03 Dec 2007 14:27:14 -0000http://techliberation.com/2007/11/30/got-ict-the-digital-revolution-as-productivity-fortifier/#comment-1452775<i>we want preferences for certain features</i><br><br>Why isn't "based on open standards" an appropriate feature for governments to look for? Open standards have clear advantages above and beyond any cost savings.Tim LeeMon, 03 Dec 2007 14:27:14 -0000http://techliberation.com/2007/11/30/got-ict-the-digital-revolution-as-productivity-fortifier/#comment-1452777It's fine that the federal and state governments will bargain to reduce taxpayer costs, but there's no evidence that life-cycle costs for open source software, or software based on open standards, will be cheaper than their proprietary equivalents. It all comes down to this: we don't want preferences for any business model, we want preferences for certain features, for which the marketplace will compete to provide.bradencoxMon, 03 Dec 2007 08:58:51 -0000http://techliberation.com/2007/11/30/got-ict-the-digital-revolution-as-productivity-fortifier/#comment-1452776Preferences?<br><br><p>Lobbying governments to accept EULAs instead of insisting on broader rights to the software they use is like lobbying them to accept Rent-A-Center contracts in place of the competitive bidding process. Why should governments, as large software buyers, not use their negotiating power to cut their taxpayers' software costs in the long term?</p>Don MartiFri, 30 Nov 2007 19:39:33 -0000