[NTLUG:Discuss] from Linux Journal Comment on Government Forge

[Tom Adelstein]

My last article for Linux Journal covered the Launch of Government Forge.

http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7052

This time the article hasn't made the Slashdot hit list and that's too 
bad. But, I've received lots of kudo's on the site from people from the 
people who have seen it. Seems like a portal for open source 
applications from government units has hit a chord.

I thought you might like to see this comment on the article. It gave me 
a rush!





Re: Linux Access in State and Local Government, Part VII (Score: 1)
by phubert on Monday, August 04, 2003
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I have worked in State government IT for 33 years. I was an Assembly 
language programmer at the Calif. DMV officially for about 5 years and 
unofficially (classification) for another 6 years. All that time, I 
thought it would be wonderful if there was a way to share code and ideas.

Since then I've been in systems and network administration on various 
platforms and have more recently been promoting FLOSS and Linux in 
various forums. The one thing I thought would help State of Calif. IT is 
a central site for collaboration and sharing. More than anything, 
government entities need to build or maintain core competencies, and 
this is one area they have failed to effectively address.

Smaller governmental bodies (local boards and districts, small cities 
and sparsely populated counties) could use systems, programs, and tools 
developed by the larger entities. And this form of sharing could produce 
incredible savings.

Let me recommend that everyone in the FLOSS community lobby their 
representatives at every level for just this sort of program: an open, 
collaborative technology sharing and development site! It was high time 
for this sort of effort AGES ago!!! And there's no time like the present 
time of severe belt tightening at all levels of government!