Misunderstanding Innovation

The commonest error is the failure to recognise that innovation it is an innately incremental and collaborative process. Technological progress, like almost any human endeavour, is a social activity. The greatest philosophers and innovators have always recognised that they were standing on the shoulders of giants.

The current IP-obsessed culture inhibits collaboration, and hampers the natural process of innovation in society.

Fortunately, initiatives like the Free Software movement have shown that innovation can thrive without creating artificial monopolies.

Police Act Review Wiki | Main / Home Page

Police Act Review Wiki | Main / Home Page

Freedom more important than price or cost... | Open Source Initiative

Freedom more important than price or cost... | Open Source Initiative: "CIOs and CTOs: the freedom of source enables innovation that's otherwise impossible, modular architectures based on transparent, open standards provide greater efficiency and robustness, and competitive vendor offerings that are based on service rather than lock-in deliver competitive value in both time-to-market and quality of implementation. In short, the win-win-win of open source is no longer mere theory, but in evidence throughout the enterprise and around the world. And, to the extent that IT buyers can exercise choice (when they a"

Computerworld - Open source to help quell ICT trade deficit: Waugh

Computerworld - Open source to help quell ICT trade deficit: Waugh

Technology Review: Opening Up the Patent Process

Technology Review: Opening Up the Patent Process

Open Source Is the Big Disruptor

Gartner declared open-source software the biggest disruptor the software industry has ever seen and postulated it will eventually result in cheaper software and new business models.

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CNews: Russian OS to be installed in every school

CNews: Russian OS to be installed in every school

Russia is latest country to move towards OpenDocument format and open standards - ITRPortal.com

Russia is latest country to move towards OpenDocument format and open standards - ITRPortal.com

GotzeBlogged � Blog Archive � Netherlands Picks ODF

On behalf of the Dutch government, Frank Heemskerk, Minister of Economic Affairs, announced today that ODF will be the standard for reading, publishing and the exchange of information for all governmental organisations. The deadline is January 2009. Heemskerk’s announcement is just one of several initiatives about the use of open standards and open source software in Dutch government.

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Government to boost use of free software

The government is to make more use of free and open source software in order to cut costs and make it less dependent on powerful single suppliers such as Microsoft, news agency ANP reports.

Government departments will only be able to deviate from open source software if they have a good reason to do so, junior economic affairs minister Frank Heemskerk is reported as saying. The plan, which has full cabinet backing, will be sent to MPs on Monday, ANP says.

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Government backsliding on open source

Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson Julia Goldsworthy said: “The government's performance on open source is shocking. It has reports from 2001 indicating the benefits and yet it has failed to follow its own recommendations and continues to engage in proprietary lock in with major corporations."

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"The government announced and re-announced these plans years ago to great fanfare. The sad fact both for open source industry and the taxpayer is that the plans have not been fully implemented.”

Goldsworthy is set to challenge Cabinet Office minister Ed Miliband on the use of open source software across government – and its potential to produce efficiency savings – in the forthcoming parliamentary session.

Earlier this year, the Conservatives also attacked the government over open source when shadow chancellor George Osborne argued that greater use of open source software in the public sector could save £600m a year.

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Revenue based on maintenance, not licenses

Forrester predicts that for SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft, maintenance revenue will remain at more than 40 percent of overall sales for the foreseeable future.


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Tuttle SVC: Analyst Anticipates Eight-fold Increase in K-12 Open Source by 2011

Open source is gaining importance for schools. The growth rate is a healthy 70% per year. Beyond Linux and the well-known Indiana open-source initiative, a number of other states and districts are considering open source. Moodle, a curriculum delivery platform, is an example of a popular open-source program. Widespread open-source usage will grow eight-fold from 2006 to 2011.

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