The U.K. government confirmed on Monday that it will consider open-source software as a way to avoid getting locked into proprietary information technology products.
Not only central government will be affected by the policy: so too will local governments and the wider public sector, including non-departmental public bodies and the National Health Service. Contracts will be awarded on a value-for-money basis. [CNET News.com]
Microsoft as the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (ADTI) are horrified. The UK aren't the first, other national governments have made similar moves. This is starting to become a trend that Redmond is sure to sure to try and stop. Besides the open source FUD report I highlighted Microsoft is proported to have encouraged, Wired News reports Microsoft has enlisted the US Ambassador in Lima to lobby to kill a bill mandating the use of open source technology in Peru's government system.
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