The term "open source" refers to software source materials or source codes made freely and openly available with permission to be redistributed, customized, repurposed and rebuilt, legally and most often without fees—as opposed to proprietary software where the codes are kept private, must be bought, and usually cannot be significantly modified by the user. Here’s a good definition from the Open Source Initiative 

http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd Read More »

A group of companies, advocacy groups, and open source projects announced Open Source for America at the O'Reilly Open Source convention on Wednesday. Trying to draw as many collaborators as possible into their coalition, they aim to establish a more effective voice supporting the use of free and open source software in the U.S. Federal government environment. Read More »

The evolution of open source adoption at the federal level should be a plus for commercial providers. "We see this progress as an endorsement of our development model that is suited to these applications," said Red Hat Chief Technology Strategist Gunnar Hellekson. However, he also expressed disappointment that many agencies haven't generated the legal guidance necessary for their procurement departments to go after open source options. Read More »

The Department of Defense Tuesday clarified its stance on open source software saying it is equal to commercial software in almost all cases and by law should be considered by the agency when making technology purchase decisions.

The memo was not a policy statement but instead a clarification and guidance on the use of open source software (OSS) within the agency. It was issued by David Wennergren, deputy CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Read More »

Open source in the government and military isn't a new thing; governance is one of open source's biggest target markets, so to speak. It's still all the more heartening to hear the Department of Defense come out strongly in favor of open source, and to recommend using more of it whenever possible.

The recommendation comes in the form of a memorandum (PDF) issued back on October 16th by David M. Wennergren, deputy CIO for the DoD. Wennergren notes that the "positive aspects of OSS [open source software]" should be considered when performing research for its use in the DoD. Read More »

Defense Department Deputy Chief Information Officer David Wennergren on Tuesday issued the Pentagon's much-anticipated memorandum clarifying the use and development of open source software.

The memo, dated Oct. 16, notes that there are many open source programs in operational use by the department today, in both classified and unclassified environments, but there have been misconceptions and misinterpretations of the existing laws, policies and regulations that deal with the technology.

Today, in conjunction with the O’Reilly Open Source Conference (OSCON) in San Jose, Calif., more than 70 companies, academic institutions, communities, related groups and individuals announced the formation ofOpen Source for America, an organization that will serve as a unified voice for the promotion of open source software in the U.S. Federal Government arena. Read More »

Speaking of open-source software (see today's earlier post about the White House adopting open-source), the Department of Defense is also exploring ways to use open-source programs to as a way to be more efficient. Read More »

With this post I’d like to tell you a bit more about the coalition Open Source for America and why I believe it is so important for our collective future.  I would also like to encourage you to join this coalition yourself.   Whether you represent industry, academia, non-profit organizations or are an individual technologist this coalition needs your help and support. Read More »

Leaders of the open-source movement announced on Wednesday that they have formed a coalition to promote support of and adoption by federal agencies of the nonproprietary computer software.

More than 50 companies, academic institutions, communities and individuals formed Open Source for America to promote its use in the federal government. Open source generally refers to software code that is provided to the public to modify and download for free. Read More »