On 02-Jan-02 John Seago wrote:

The papers on this matter can be found at : http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/rfc/rfc_document.asp?docnum=429 http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/interoperability/egif_document.asp?docnum=430 those members who have an opinion on this mater now have an opportunity to make it known to the UK government.

John Seago

John,

Very many thanks for making these known to us!

While I have yet to read the QinetiQ report (the second URL above) in detail -- it is the size of a good novel at 377 pages -- what I have seen in the RFC document and so far in the QinetiQ report strikes me as pretty accurate and well-judged.

One aspect that disappointed me was that, while the writers clearly identified major problems with the current "proprietary software" situation -- particularly proprietary lock-in, and the bind imposed by proprietary data formats -- they are decidedly (and self-confessedly) mealy-mouthed in their recommendations to Government about these. If anything, we OSS users should try to reinforce their over-tentative suggestions with well-judged enthusiastic support, so that these become de facto strong recommendations instead!

Lurking near the beginning of both reports is the hint that this initiative is a response to European Community pressure: the EC has for some time had a policy seeking to insulate it from the worst consequences of dependency on proprietary software. France in particular has been hawkish about this, to the point a few years ago where Open Source was mandated by Ministerial Decree from the Minstry of Education for use in French schools and other educational establishments, with AFUL (Association Française des Utilisateurs de Linux) coopted to form the core of a mobile support system for this purpose. I have not kept up-to-date with the later evolution of this; I shall try to find out from some of my contacts over there, now that the issue is finally floating to the surface in this country.

By the way, I still have copies of the "Halloween Document" (referred to in the above reports) on my website

http://nessie.mcc.ac.uk/~efh

(as well, incidentally, as related thoughts which I expressed 3 years ago at an OSS meeting in London: I was a little bit gratified to see that they meshed so well with the QuinetiQ discussion, though they need updating a bit now; and, also by the way, if I can still lay hands on the French Edu/AFUL documents maybe I'll place these there too).

Best wishes, and Happy New Year, to all! Ted.

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