 Switzerland now requires all government software to be open source https://www.zdnet.com/article/switzerland-now-requires-all-government-software-to-be-open-source/ by @sjvn Switzerland is one of the world's leading #opensource countries; now, if only the United States could follow its lead! 35 comments
  @freakazoid @sjvn given they haven't even switched to metric yet, it'll probably never happen ;-) @sjvn Ubuntu is popular in Brasil because a similar decision: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/technology/brazil-free-softwares-biggest-and-best-friend.html @sjvn A few years ago, the #Portuguese government tried to do the same, starting with the official documents . All must be in open document format. It didn't work when the own government, who had issued the order, kept sending documents in Microsoft formats. At the time, there was no office in open formats (docx, etc..). LibreOffice was not a thing, only OpenOffice. The #Portuguese government is tight in with M$, more and more every year. It's a shame  @feiticeir0 I believe the UK civil service is still using ODF by default, but it's an uphill battle. @turbobob @sjvn @feiticeir0 all big companies continue to use docx and xlsx so guessing governmentds tend to follow  @lightweight @sjvn recently the tech world has been following Europe at least in some ways so it bodes well.  @sjvn Incredible many trackers on that ZDNET-page. In my settings, uBlock origin blocks right now 396 (steps up every time I flip to that browser tap) and EFF Privacy badger 15.  @sjvn just to clarify: This is for all custom software. However this is great for us to ack that we have very bad custom software. Deprecated stack, most likely plagued with security holes, so this could ensure that custom software is shared among our states and can be audited by everyone. So not all shining and rainbows. But progress nonetheless. @sjvn I've seen quite a few complaints about accessibility being less than perfect (though I'm a satisfied and not entirely able bodied Linux user, I have friends using e.g. screen magnification). I wonder if they, or the EU when its OSS funding comes back, might be able to do something about that.  @sjvn @sjvn I have seen a lot of posts asserting that and they all leave out a major loophole: doesnβt apply to 3rd party software and has no provision discouraging 3rd party software. We tried something similar at NASA by agency mandate in the 80s. A lot of creativity went into discovering reasons why a project had to use 3rd party resulting in no discernible increase in OSS. I hope Switzerland has a better result but without mandates I doubt it will. @MartyFouts @sjvn this is indeed correct. I don't think this is about increasing OSS usage increase at all.  @sjvn @POTUS How about open source? #USPS is still unavailable because of #CrowdstrikeFail @sjvn This title is misleading: All, well, most government developed software must be opensourced. The article itself has it right.  I can confirm that for example the development of QGIS, ModelBaker and the Open Source Interlis tools are heavily funded by Swiss Federal, Cantonal and Municipial governments since a decade.
 @sjvn@mastodon.social @sjvn In Germany it appears that the federal free state of Thuringa has first established an open stack strategy in public administration.  @sjvn why am I this bothered by the fact that there is an Y instead of a Z between the T and U keys on that keyboard?
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I understand it's not the intent, but now I can't help but ponder cutting edge PC gamers flocking away from WASD and ESDF in favor of 7TYUH.