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"MONTREAL, Aug. 27 /CNW Telbec/ - FACIL, a non-profit association, which promotes the collective appropriation of Free Software, contests the Quebec government purchasing methods for software used within public administrations.
A company called Savoir-Faire Linux, Inc. has filed in the Superior Court of Quebec against the government's pension plan for choosing Microsoft software without putting the job out publicly for bid. It seems the law in Quebec is very strict that the government is supposed to publish an invitation to tender for any acquisition of more than $25,000, and this job was a good deal more than that.
"...The modernization of our Public Administration imperative and because this modernization will only come to be if we can control our own information system, the need for a resolute and informed policy on the use of Free Software within Quebec’s public administration is long overdue..... "
A Quebec court ruled a provincial agency was wrong to install Microsoft software on its computers without allowing others, such as Linux dealers, to bid on the lucrative contract, AFP learned Friday.
The Icelandic government has released a policy on free and open source software. In short, the policy states that when buying software free and open source software should be considered on an equal footing with proprietary software, that software based on open standards shall be chosen, that lock-ins to specific vendors should be avoided (choosing free software is one means to achieve this), that bespoke or customized software shall be reusable (and free and open source software achieves this), and finally that students of Icelandic educational institutes shall have the opportunity to learn about and use free and open source software on a par with proprietary software.
This policy applies to all state institutions and organizations operated with public funds.
Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court yesterday decided that a government organisation's renewal of its proprietary software licences without a public tender does not harm the business interests of open source software service providers.
The U.S. federal government is being taken advantage of by many unscrupulous software vendors who charge the government far more for proprietary software, and technical support for that software, than is warranted.