OT: Open Source, In The News

From: Anthony Mandic (we_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 09/09/03 

Date: 08 Sep 2003 22:56:05 GMT

McNealy may claim Solaris is Sun's version of Linux, but it's not Open Source.

Solaris is proprietary. 

----
http://online.wsj.com/
#   
#   A Brazilian Challenge for Microsoft
#   
#   Government's Preference For Open-Source Software May Tilt the Playing Field
#   
#   By JONATHAN KARP 
#   Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
#   
#   SAO PAULO -- Brazil is about to raise the stakes in the global battle
#   between commercial and free software by tilting the playing field away
#   from Microsoft Corp., a move that renews investor concerns about
#   intervention by the Workers Party government in the marketplace.
#   
#   President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is finalizing a policy recommending
#   that federal ministries, agencies and state enterprises install
#   open-source software, such as Linux, instead of proprietary software,
#   such as Microsoft's Windows, in new computer equipment. Sergio Amadeu,
#   Mr. da Silva's information-technology adviser, says the goal is for at
#   least 80% of government computers bought next year to feature
#   open-source software, though the guidelines aren't binding.
#   
#   The government, including state-owned companies, is this country's
#   biggest consumer of computer hardware and software, so any shift by
#   Brasilia is bound to send ripples through one of the world's most
#   important developing economies. "At no point will we require the use of
#   free software. The market will have to choose," says Mr. Amadeu, who is
#   also pressing government bodies to migrate where possible to open-source
#   systems from Microsoft on existing computer networks. But he adds, "We
#   will use the state's purchasing power to make technology policy. The
#   U.S. government does this. Why can't we?"
#   
#   The free-software movement in Brazil has gained momentum since the
#   leftist Workers Party took office in January. Four states have now
#   passed laws encouraging the use of open-source software, and a Workers
#   Party-sponsored federal bill urging the same is gaining traction in
#   Congress after languishing for years.
#   
#   To Mr. Amadeu and his allies, open-source software is critical to
#   reducing heavy software license fees, achieving the government's social
#   goal of providing greater computer access to Brazilians and spurring the
#   country's technology industry. There's also a moral element. "Free
#   software is like generic drugs," Mr. Amadeu says, referring to Brazil's
#   high-profile crusade to find alternatives to costly AIDS medicine. In
#   this case, though, there's no threat to break a patent.
#   
#   Local entrepreneurs agree that lower software-license fees and the use
#   of free software can benefit a developing country such as Brazil. But
#   like Microsoft, many say the government is waging an ideological battle
#   that could hurt Brazil's software industry and exports because most
#   entrepreneurs develop products and applications for Microsoft's
#   platform. "It's technological McCarthyism," says Cid Torquato, executive
#   director of Camara-e.net, an industry association in which Microsoft is
#   a member. "The government wants an industrial policy for software that's
#   like telling right-handed people to use their left hand."
#   
#   The debate cuts to the heart of a lingering doubt about Brazil's
#   government. Mr. da Silva, whose party traditionally favors a big
#   government role in economic development, has won over skeptical
#   investors with budget prudence and success in passing difficult
#   social-security reform. Still, says John Williamson, a senior fellow at
#   the Institute for International Economics in Washington, "My concern is
#   whether the state will do something to override the market in
#   microeconomic policies, such as industrial policy or regulation."
#   
#   Brazil isn't the only country where Microsoft faces a mounting challenge
#   from Linux and proponents of open-source software. Federal and local
#   governments are openly courting free software. In Germany, for instance,
#   the city government of Munich is dropping Windows on thousands of PCs in
#   favor of Linux. Last week, a government official in Japan said his
#   country would work with South Korea and China on an open-source
#   alternative to Windows.
#   
#   Microsoft, in response, is lobbying governments around the world. One of
#   its biggest moves has been to let government agencies view its "source
#   code." Many proponents of open-source software say that since
#   open-source code is viewable, it can be made more secure than Windows.
#   
#   Brazil, along with China, India and Russia, is strategically important
#   to Microsoft. Chairman Bill Gates was among the first U.S. businessmen
#   to meet privately with President da Silva, to discuss Brazil's software
#   development and the new government's priorities.
#   
#   "We have nothing against Microsoft," insists Mr. Amadeu, who uses a
#   laptop computer that runs a Linux-based operating system. Yet Mr. Amadeu
#   foresees offering government credit incentives for Brazilian companies
#   to switch applications to open-source software. "The proprietary
#   software model isn't sustainable for developing countries," he says.
#   
#   Microsoft bristles at the change in official thinking. Luiz Moncau,
#   marketing director in Brazil, says that while the last Brazilian
#   government "let the market decide what software to buy, the current
#   government thinks regulation would work better than autonomy." Armed
#   with market studies, Microsoft is trying to show the government how
#   proprietary software can be more cost effective than free software, when
#   service costs are included. "It's hard to get the message across," Mr.
#   Moncau says.
#   
#   In a country where just 10% of the population owns a personal computer,
#   Microsoft has made inroads. Brazil's banking industry and government
#   boast first-world technology systems. And one in every five electronic
#   voting machines used in last year's election operated Windows CE.
#   
#   Microsoft also helped implement proprietary software to run procurement
#   systems for the Sao Paulo state government and Brasília. The software
#   required a license fee but has saved the government money by
#   streamlining purchasing operations. Yet, the Workers Party government
#   has decided to migrate the program to an open-source operating system.
#   
#   The national Congress joined the fray in August, sponsoring a "Free
#   Software Week," featuring seminars and hearings. Microsoft declined an
#   invitation to make its case before a congressional committee, waiting
#   for a hearing in a less-charged atmosphere. A 1999 bill sponsored by a
#   Workers Party legislator and seeking the preferred use of free software
#   in the public and private sector is also gaining attention.
#   
#   "The noise this creates is bigger than the actual impact on sales," Mr.
#   Moncau says. Microsoft believes that the laws violate constitutional
#   principles of free choice, but the company so far hasn't challenged them
#   in court. Meanwhile, Mr. Moncau says, talks continue with the Brazilian
#   government, which accounts for some 6% of Microsoft's sales in Brazil,
#   on lowering license fees and opening access to source code.

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