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Massachusetts Chooses 'Open Source'
by Chloe Albanesius
Massachusetts plans to abandon proprietary software in favor of "open source" software for the state's information technology investments and operating expenditures, a move that worries some Microsoft-affiliated groups and proprietary companies currently relying on the state's business.
"We can no longer afford a disjointed and proprietary approach that locks in [traditional] systems, generates excessive use of outside consultant, and creates long, often misguided project plans," State Administration and Finance Secretary Eric Kriss wrote in a Sept. 25 memorandum to state Chief Information Officer Peter Quinn.
Kriss wrote that "effective immediately," the state will adopt a comprehensive open-source policy. "New applications must follow open standards [and] open source, while ... existing applications will be evaluated" for a transition to such systems, he said.
Open-source software has publicly available programming instructions while proprietary like the kind sold by Microsoft keeps that underlying coding secret.
Massachusetts is the only remaining state currently pursuing an antitrust case against Microsoft. A spokeswoman for Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly, the office pursuing the Microsoft case, declined to comment on the issue. A Microsoft spokesman said at this point that the state's decision to use open-source software does not appear to be related to the antitrust case.
But reaction to the announcement by Microsoft-affiliated groups was swift. "We prefer that this does not go forward," said Mike Wendy, policy counsel for the Initiative for Software Choice (ISC), which Microsoft was instrumental in organizing. "We believe that Eric Kriss has all the tools already at his disposal to find the best, most cost-efficient solution for his IT needs."
"[M]any industry analysts, who really want to see open source become the main system down the road, say you should never justify your changing over of systems just based on cost," Wendy added. "It's too equivocal, too many question marks."
It also could cost jobs, he said. "Those companies doing business with Massachusetts are likely proprietary and will be concerned by this."
The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT), whose membership includes Microsoft, also questioned whether open-source software is the right financial choice. "This policy will lock out hundreds of Massachusetts companies from government contracts," ACT President Jonathan Zuck said in a Tuesday release, criticizing Kriss for making the move "without any input from the information technology industry, which accounts for over 50,000 Massachusetts jobs."
ISC Executive Director Bob Kramer on Tuesday sent a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney requesting a meeting in order to present the coalition's perspective. "Mandatory government regulations ... weaken the overall software market, biasing the choice of viable software options available to public authorities," Kramer wrote.
The Business Software Alliance, another group that includes Microsoft, also called for a dialogue between industry and state officials. "Policies that would mandate procurement preferences for specific models of software development could hinder the growth of this critical economic force both in Massachusetts and across the country," the group wrote in a Monday release.
Kriss' office did not return calls by press time. The state's Information Technology Commission, however, suggested the switch to open-source software in a February 2003 report. The report argued that the change would "reduce the commonwealth's reliance on a sole provider," thus increasing competition and driving down software costs.
Web Wisdom From A Videogame?
Web Wise Kids, a nonprofit group focused on keeping children safe online, announced on Wednesday that it has received a $200,000 grant from the Entertainment Software Association Foundation for a videogame designed to teach children how to avoid sexual predators.
Schools in 25 states currently use the game, which is called "Missing." The funds will be used to expand the program in existing states and introduce it in others. The foundation previously gave Web Wise Kids $100,000, and the federal government provided $300,000 to launch the program.
The Internet offers many learning opportunities, but people must "understand how to make sure that it's handled properly and with care," Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., said during a Wednesday press conference on Capitol Hill.
"We are in the process of going into Oklahoma and offering [officials] a kit for every school [in the state]," said Judi Westberg-Warren, the executive director of Web Wise Kids. "We'd like to do that for every state."
Wednesday's press conference also highlighted the achievements of "Missing" programs in Oregon, California and Massachusetts. "Massachusetts is the first state where schools formally adopted 'Missing' as part of the school curriculum," Westberg-Warren said.
"I would hope that this is a program that will be expanded all over the country," said Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass. "We've tried [online safety] programs in schools [before], but with the advent of the Internet, it's presented a new challenge to law enforcement."
After online predators in the small town of Gladstone, Ore., lured four girls, city officials decided to adopt the "Missing" program in an effort to enlighten children about Internet dangers. "I am a mother, I was a teacher, and I know how important it is to look at our children's safety," said Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore. "I'm happy to see the Internet helping us solve some of the problems that go along with the good things on the Internet."
Officer Kim Mercer of the San Francisco Police Department said that within months after California classrooms implemented the "Missing" program, she received calls from five separate children who suspected chat-room acquaintances of being predators. The program "empowers kids, something I couldn't do [alone]," she said.
When asked if capturing a handful of predators should be considered a success given the thousands of pedophiles online, foundation President Doug Lowenstein said the program's main goal is teaching children how to avoid online predators, not catching the predators. "It's a learning tool," he said. "There's a preventative factor that's impossible to calculate."
An Objection To DISH-ing Out Taxes
DirecTV and EchoStar Satellite, along with its DISH Network, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against North Carolina for allegedly discriminatory tax practices.
Filed in Superior Court for Wake County in Raleigh, N.C., the companies sued the state's Revenue Department because it imposed a 5-percent sales tax on satellite-TV providers but no similar tax on cable-TV providers. "These discriminatory taxes benefit local cable operators while unfairly burdening satellite TV customers," Michael McDonnell, EchoStar's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said in a release.
Before the filing, and in accordance with state law, the satellite companies formally requested $30 million in tax refunds to their customers. North Carolina rejected the request.
DirecTV and EchoStar also have taken action on the tax issue in Ohio and Tennessee.
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