| UK-funded project aims Linux at local governments |
Mar. 03, 2006
The UK's Open Source Academy (OSA), a project funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, is promoting Linux and open-source software within local government, according to an article at Silicon.com. The Birmingham City Council has reportedly already started on one of the most ambitious open source projects.
Birmingham is replacing the software on 300 PCs at its central library and 39 local libraries with Linux and open source applications, Silicon.com's Steve Ranger writes.
"Nine months ago our library infrastructure was in need of updating, and what we've done is look at open source as an alternative to conventional desktop software," a Birmingham spokesman reportedly told Ranger. "We've implemented a refresh of the desktop which uses open source software throughout."
According to the OSA's website, "The Open Source Academy is a partnership of local authorities and organisations with experience in the Open Source world, backed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister through the e-Innovations programme. [The] site sets out the projects being undertaken by the Open Source Academy and aims to encourage all local authorities to consider this ground breaking IT solution."
Last week, the Republic of South Africa Revenue Service issued an RFP (request for proposal) for Linux desktops to help the agency do its tax collecting. As a result, 14,000 Windows XP SP2 desktops will be migrated to Linux.
In January, a group of federal IT managers endorsed Linux for US government use, and in December, the Swiss government said it plans to switch 3,000 of its office desktops to Novell SUSE Linux from Unix and Windows.
The OSA's website is located here (requires registration, but a clever search on Google yields numerous interesting cached pages).
Read more about the UK's OSA project at Silicon.com.
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