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AGIMO archive > AGIMO Open Source Software Resource Site

AGIMO Open Source Software Resource Site

Background

The public sector is becoming more and more standardised in its choice of IT products. One phenomenon in software development is called Open-Source Software (OSS). OSS is an alternative to proprietary software for a range of different applications and solutions.

The open source community consists of individuals or groups of individuals who contribute to a particular open source product or technology. The open source process refers to the approach for developing and maintaining open source products and technologies, including software, computers, devices, technical formats, and computer languages.

Open-source software is already an important component of the Internet infrastructure. The basic standards for transferring data between computers, for sending email, and translating Internet addresses are all primarily supported by open-source software.

This resource area contains links to various countries, publications and organisations. It is an open resource site, so if you wish to have information posted please forward it to the contact officer listed below for review before possible inclusion. Please note that inclusion does not imply any degree of endorsement from AGIMO.

Country Links
List of Publications

	BSDcentral BSDcentral is an online software store catering to the BSD community.			Enterprise Linux Today Enterprise Linux Today is a news site for enterprise Linux users.
	All Linux Devices The Resource Site for Embedded Linux Information			Apache Today Apache Today is a resource site providing news, downloads, links etc
	PHPBuilder.com The Resource Site for PHP Developers.			BSD Today BSD Today is a resource site providing news, downloads, links etc.
	Linuxnewbie Linuxnewbie is a Resource Site for new users to Linux/Open Source.			Linux Today Linux Today is a resource site providing news, downloads, links etc.
	LinuxPlanet Linux news and tutorials for system administrators.			Linux Central Linux Central is mainly an online software store catering to the general Linux community.
	Just Linux The Complete Linux Guide for all your Linux Needs.			Newsletters BSDcentral is an online software store catering to the BSD community.
	Internet Engineering Taskforce The Internet Engineering Task Force is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet.			International Institute of Infonomics The International Institute of Infonomics has been set up by the University of Maastricht, the 'Hogeschool Zuyd' (a cluster of regional universities of professional education), and international institutes such as MERIT and the Maastricht McLuhan Institute.
	IBM IBM Australia is a leading supplier of information technology, software and services in Australia and internationally.			Sun Microsystems Sun is a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software, and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web.
	Microsoft Home of Windows.			SCO The SCO Group (SCO) is a provider of software solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and replicated branch offices. SCO solutions include UNIX and Linux platforms; management, messaging, and e-business tools.
	Redhat Red Hat is the largest and most recognized provider of open source technology. We are headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina on the Centennial Campus of NC State University and have 22 locations worldwide.			Hewlett Packard HP is a leading provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and business. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services, and imaging and printing.
	Oracle Oracle Corporation is the world's largest enterprise software company, providing enterprise software to the world's largest and most successful businesses.			Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is the principal organizational sponsor of the GNU Project.
	Adaptec Adaptec Inc. provides highly available storage access solutions that reliably move, manage and protect critical data and digital content.			Linux Central The place to get Linux hardware, software, and gear on the Internet.
	Apple Apple Mac OS			O'Reilly Network Everything you wanted to know about OS. Sign up for free Linux newsletters.
	Wizard Wizard is Australian owned and operated Information Technology (IT) product and service provider.			Digital Distribution Global Training Services Pty. Ltd. Providers of eLearning (online training) for OpenOffice.org and StarOffice. A 100% Australian owned and operated company spanning three states, they are strongly export focused, enterprise friendly, and contributors to the OpenOffice.org project.
	Novell Novell is a leader in enterprise infrastructure software, offering an open platform and fully integrated security, identity and systems management solutions.			Fujitsu The Fujitsu Supported PostgreSQL database solution is the latest database initiative from the Fujitsu Software Group.

Countries

Increasingly governments around the world are investigating the use of Open Source Software as an alternative to proprietary software. Recently there has been an increasing use of open source solutions in place of proprietary software solutions - except where proprietary offers the only solution.

The 'International Institute of Infonomics' at the 'University of Maastricht' released a report in June 2002 titled the 'Free/Libre and Open Source Software: Survey and Study'. This study argues that there are substantial benefits that open source software can offer governments. Some of the benefits include:

The advantages of open source licenses to the public sector;
Reduced costs;
Increased platform stability;
Increased competition in public sector purchasing arrangements;
Not reliant on a single vendor;
The 'openness' of the source code which allows for customised tailoring of applications;
Increased scalability; and
Increased security.

When trying to determine what the international uptake of open source software the study notes that there are several obstacles confronting the researcher, these are:

Open source applications are rarely used as the sole operating platform;
There are no mandatory licensing requirements in most circumstances;
Agencies in most jurisdictions are free to purchase whatever software they like subject to their purchasing policies;
There are often no mandatory requirements for reporting what software is being used;
Computers previously running proprietary software (trackable to a certain degree) have been moved over to open source; and
How do agencies define open source.

In the following country sites it will be noticeable that quality and quantity of information on their use of open source varies widely between jurisdictions. There are several reasons for this. First and fore-mostly, many jurisdictions are unwilling to disclose information that they consider politically and/or financially sensitive. OSS adoption in many cases falls into both these categories.

Secondly, as previously mentioned, there are very few mandatory reporting requirements within the jurisdictions. This poses the problem that while open source use may be widespread no single agency and/or individual holds consolidated information and, finally, availability of information on open source is closely linked to political agenda's. When the jurisdictional governments' issue 'political policy directives' eg. Germany, France and the United Kingdom, information flow increases dramatically. (UoM FLOSS REPORT 2002)

	CANADA	The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) is a central government agency. In this capacity, its mission is to help the Government of Canada manage its human, financial, information and technology resources.
	DENMARK	The IT Department contributes towards the realisation of the Government's objective that Denmark should become a pioneer country in the areas of IT and telecommunications.
	EUROPEAN UNION	Informatics Directorate, European Union
	GERMANY	The Minister of the Interior sees to the security of citizens in the information society. He ensures that the citizens have confidence in the new ICT, and that their privacy is guarded. Citizens have a right to the protection of their personal data. At the same time, intensive data exchange is necessary in a modern information society.
	THE NETHERLANDS	Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
	HONG KONG	Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau (responsible for developing government IT policy).
	JAPAN	The Headquarters' purpose is to enable all Japanese citizens to enjoy the benefits of the IT revolution and to comprehensively promote measures aimed at developing Japan into an internationally competitive "nation built on IT."
	SOUTH KOREA	Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs
	NEW ZEALAND	The Government seeks to ensure that New Zealanders will be able to gain access to government information and services, and participate in their democracy, using the Internet, telephones and other technologies as they emerge.
	NORWAY	The Department of Government Services is responsible for coordinating IT development in public administration and between public administration and the municipal sector, the general public, and the business community.
	PERU	Ministry of Transport and Communication
	SINGAPORE	Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (iDA)
	UNITED KINGDOM	The Office of the e-Envoy is leading the drive to get the UK online, to ensure that the country, its citizens and its businesses derive maximum benefit from the knowledge economy.
	UNITED STATES	GSA secures the buildings, products, technology, and other essentials federal agencies need. Our resource experts secure space, furniture, equipment, computers, and telecommunications systems from federal and commercial sources at best value.
	AUSTRALIA	The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) provides strategic advice, activities and representation relating to the application of ICT to government administration, information and services.

Publications

Opensources : voices from the open source revolution / edited by Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman & Mark Stone.
Beijing ; London : O'Reilly, 1999.
The simple economics of open source / Josh Lerner, Jean Tirole.
Cambridge, Mass. : National Bureau of Economic Research, c2000.
Embracing insanity : Open Source software development / Russell C. Pavlicek.
Indianapolis, Ind. : Sams ; Hemel Hempstead : Prentice Hall, 2000.
Open (Source) for business / Evan Leibovitch.
Indianapolis, Ind. : Que ; Hemel Hempstead : Prentice Hall, 2000.
Opensources : voices from the open source revolution / edited by Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman & Mark Stone.
Beijing ; London : O'Reilly, 1999.
Open sources : voices from the open source revolution / edited by Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman & Mark Stone.
Beijing ; Sebastopol, CA : O'Reilly, c1999.
The hacker ethic : and the spirit of the information age / Pekka Himanen ; prologue Linus Torvalds ; epilogue Manuel Castells.
New York : Random House, 2001.
PostgreSQL : introduction and concepts / Bruce Momijan.
Harlow : Addison-Wesley, 2000.
Managing open source projects : a Wiley tech brief / Jan Sandred.
New York : Wiley Computer Pub., 2001.
The cathedral and the bazaar : musings on Linux and Open Source by an accidental revolutionary / Eric S. Raymond ; with a foreword by Bob Young.
Beijing ; Cambridge, Mass. : O'Reilly, 2001.
The hacker ethic : and the spirit of the information age / Pekka Himanen ; prologue by Linus Torvalds ; epilogue by Manuel Castells.
London : Vintage ; Secker & Warburg, 2001.
Linux : how the Open Source Movement is changing the face of enterprise computing / Debra Cameron.
Charleston, SC : Computer Technology Research, 2001.
Open source business / Jan Sandred.
New York ; Chichester : Wiley, 2001.
Rebel code : Linux and the Open source revolution / Glyn Moody.
London : Allen Lane, c2001.
Oracle & open source / Andy Duncan and Sean Hull.
Sebastopol, CA : O'Reilly, c2001.Open source, AUUG'99 : 8th-10th September 1999 : Carlton Crest hotel Melbourne, Victotia, Australia : proceedings of / [editor: David Purdue]. Kensington, NSW : AUUG Inc., 1999.
Building open source VPNs / Henry Maine.
Rockland, Mass. : Syngress Media ; London : International Thomson, 2001.
Understanding open source software development / Joseph Feller and Brian Fitzgerald.
Harlow : Addison-Wesley, 2001.
Java tools for extreme programming : mastering open source tools including Ant, JUnit, and Cactus / Richard Hightower, Nicholas Lesiecki.
New York ; Chichester : Wiley, 2002.
Proceedings of the FREENIX track : ... USENIX Annual Technical Conference / USENIX Association.
Berkeley, CA. : The Association, c1999.
Understanding Open Source Software development / Joseph Feller, Brian Fitzgerald.
New York : Pearson Education, 2001.
Open source Web site construction kit / Thomas Schenk.
Indianapolis, Ind. : Sams, c2002.
Rebel code : Linux and the open source revolution / Glyn Moody.
London : Penguin, 2002.
Understanding Open Source Software development / Joseph Feller, Brian Fitzgerald.
London : Pearson Education, 2002.
Open source GIS : a GRASS GIS approach / by Markus Neteler, Helena Mitasova.
Boston ; London : Kluwer Academic, c2002.
Open source e-mail security / Richard Blum.
Indianapolis, Ind. : SAMS, c2002.
Embracing insanity : open source software development / Russell C. Pavlicek.
Indianapolis, Ind. : SAMS ; [Hemel Hempstead : Prentice Hall] [distributor] , c2000.
Proceedings of BSDCon.
Berkeley, Calif : USENIX Association, 2002.
The business and economics of Linux and open source / Martin Fink.
Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall, c2003.
Peer reviews in open-source software development / Jacqueline E. Stark.
2001
Government policy toward open source software / Robert W. Hahn, editor.
Washington, D.C : AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, 2002.
Web development with Apache and Perl / Theo Petersen.
Greenwich, CT : Manning, c2002.
Open source software for libraries : an open source for libraries collaboration.
Chicago ; London : American Library Association, c2002.
Open source software for z/OS and OS/390 UNIX / IBM, International Technical Support Center.
Poughkeepsie, NY : IBM Corp., International Technical Support Organization, 2002.

General Information

Contact Details

Project Officer
Strategic Directions Branch
ICT Skills
Australian Government Information Management Office
Department of Finance and Deregulation
Ph. [+61] 02 6215 1508

Contact for information on this page: Project Officer