Free the Code

See the following -

Open Source For America (OSFA) asks Administration to “Free the Code”

Press Release | Open Source for America | July 19, 2012

Open Source for America (OSFA)...today launched a petition to “Free the Code,” in an effort to encourage the government to release custom-developed, taxpayer-funded software as open source by default. “Free the Code is an initiative to start a national conversation on taxpayer investments in software and information technology,” said John Scott, president of Selection Pressure, LLC and co-chair of Open Source for America's steering committee... Read More »

U.S. Government Seeks Reduced Use of Custom Software, Releases New Policy to 'Free the Code'

As I've written before, there has been a shift, going back almost a decade, away from the debate over whether to use open source to a focus on the how to. The release by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the U.S. Federal Source Code Policy on August 8th is the latest manifestation of this shift. It achieves the goal laid out in the Obama administration's Second Open Government National Action Plan (PDF) for improved access to custom software code developed for the federal government. The plan emphasized use of (and contributing back to) open source software to fuel innovation, lower costs, and benefit the public. It also furthers a long-standing "default to open" objective going back to the early days of the administration...

US Government Accelerating Development And Release Of Open Source

Mark Bohannon | OpenSource.com | April 24, 2014

I had a chance to catch up with David A. Wheeler, a long-time leader in advising and working with the US government on issues related to open source software...In this interview, we explore the current state of use of open source software by the US government, the challenges of the Federal acquisition system, and what he's excited about as he looks ahead for open source and government....

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