Tuesday, February 10, 2009

To President Obama: Please Consider Open Source

Dear President Obama,

Congratulations on your historic and unprecedented presidential victory. We, the authors, are proud to live and work in the nation that elected you and hope your presidency will be as successful as your campaign.

As software development professionals and executives, we were encouraged to read about your plan to bring American medical records into the 21st century. We agree that standardizing medical records in a digital format will reduce the cost of health care in this country, improve the quality of care Americans receive, and create jobs.

We also believe in the critical role of open-source software to create the applications and infrastructure necessary to support electronic medical records and other government-funded technology projects. Open-source software has already resulted in dramatic cost reductions in many technology areas, including:

• application hosting & infrastructure, thanks to open-source operating systems, application servers, and other products like Linux, Apache, Tomcat, and others;
• application development and deployment, thanks to tools like Eclipse, Ruby on Rails, subversion, and many, many others; and
• communication and collaboration, thanks to open-source applications such as OpenOffice and WordPress.

But, open-source software isn’t just about providing solutions to general problems. It is also starting to produce solutions for specific, “vertical” industry problems as well. One example of this is TriSano™ from Collaborative Software Initiative, an open source, citizen-focused surveillance and outbreak management system for infectious disease, environmental hazards, and bioterrorism attacks. It allows local, state and federal entities to track, control and ultimately prevent illness and death. TriSano was deployed statewide in Utah the day you became our President.

As you’ve said, we will be judged on what we build, not what we destroy. Building high quality software at much lower costs through collaboration will be a catalyst for good work between software developers in the IT industry and subject matter experts, like doctors and nurses, in the public sector.

Open-source software brings transparency to software development. There are no “black boxes” in open-source software and therefore no need to guess what is going on “behind the scenes.” Ultimately, this means a better product for everyone, because there is visibility at every level of the application, from the user interface to the data implementation. Furthermore, open-source software provides for platform independence, which makes quick deployments that benefit our citizens much easier and realistic.

For these reasons, we urge you to make it mandatory to consider the source of an application solution (open or closed) as part of the government’s technology acquisition process, just as considering accessibility by the handicapped is required today (as defined by section 508).

Mr. President, we believe the open-source industry is changing the world of software development in many of the ways you have promised to change American politics. The values of open source mirror those you promoted in your campaign: hope, change, and openness. We, the undersigned, sincerely hope that you will make the use of open-source software a key component of every new technology initiative the United States government enters into during your presidency.

Open-source software is really just the tip of the iceberg in changing the way the government works. We want to encourage you to find ways for states and agencies to collaborate together on solutions that ultimately are better than the sum of all the individual efforts combined and at much lower cost to each participant. Open-source software encourages this type of collaboration by making the results of previous successful efforts available to others with similar goals and needs.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. It’s encouraging to have, as President of the United States, a man who appreciates the role of science and technological innovation as part of America’s larger role as a world leader, and who wants to stimulate and encourage America’s growth in these areas.
Thank you.

David Christiansen
Senior Developer
Collaborative Software Initiative
www.techdarkside.com

Stuart Cohen
Chief Executive Officer
Collaborative Software Initiative
www.csinitiative.com

John Powell
Chief Executive Officer
Alfresco
www.alfresco.com

Carl Erickson, PhD
President
Atomic Object
www.atomicobject.com


Chris Gladwin
CEO
Cleversafe
www.cleversafe.com

Don Klaiss
Chief Executive Officer
Compiere
www.compiere.com

Javier Soltero
Chief Executive Officer
Hyperic
www.hyperic.com

Roger Burkhardt
Chief Executive Officer
Ingres
www.ingres.com

Deb Woods
Vice President, Product Management
Ingres
www.ingres.com

Brian Gentile
Chief Executive Officer
Jaspersoft
www.jaspersoft.com

Rick Jung
Chief Operating Officer
Medsphere
www.medsphere.com

Ross Mason
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
MuleSource
www.mulesource.com

Justin Steinman
Vice President
Solution & Product Marketing
Novell, Inc.
www.novell.com

Steven L. Grandchamp
President and CEO
OpenLogic
www.openlogic.com

Tom Rabon
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Red Hat
www.redhat.com

Mark de Visser
CEO
Sonatype

Bertrand Diard
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Talend
www.talend.com

Anthony Gold
President, Open Solutions Alliance
Vice President, Unisys Open Source Business
www.unisys.com

Scott C. Sanchez
Chief Architect
Unisys Open Source Business
www.unisys.com

135 comments:

  1. I believe open source should be used throughout government and government sponsored projects. Public funds should be used to create software that is available to all (free) on an ongoing basis (free) and that can be modified for future projects at will (freedom). - Eric Link

    ReplyDelete
  2. An idea whose time has come. This would promote not only Obama's vision of technology innovation in government, but would also promote a greater level of efficiency and economy.
    -- Dan Blacharski, ITWorld.com
    http://www.itworld.com/channel/62361/top-tech-execs-call-obama-consider-open-source

    ReplyDelete
  3. Open source is no better than closed source. The applications should be picked on what is best for the job, not on a silly ideological war.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Free software is all about the powerful synergy that results when people work together to solve their own problems and enable others to adapt that work for their own needs. It is what government is intended to facilitate - people helping one another. Please embrace community developed free software and help the people of the United States join in and remember that we can!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I add my name to the list of supporters.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would also like to encourage the administration to seriously consider open source in all software initiatives. To temper the enthusiasm a bit I would also like to add "not at the exclusion of commercial software", but collaborative development, long-term supportability, intellectual property ownership, etc. all important aspects of open source software that must be weighed against their commercial competitors when making decisions.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fully support the letter's contents. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  8. Please add my name:
    Joel Fernandes
    Developer
    Atlantis Computing Inc.
    www.atlantiscomputing.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. In the education sector two open source projects, Sakai and Kuali, are already having an impact on saving colleges and universities (and K-12) money while providing superior software for enterprise eLearning and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Open source is an excellent way to revitalize IT in the public sector while creating jobs at the universities (or public entities) participating in creating the software and at the private firms that support and service these projects like my firm: rSmart

    Mike Zackrison
    VP Marketing
    rSmart
    www.rsmart.com
    www.sakaiproject.org
    www.kuali.org

    ReplyDelete
  10. My tax dollars should not be supporting locked down technology.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Unfortunately the letter reads as a little commercial (probably because having worked with open source for 10 years I've never heard of any of the authors). Anyway propriety software is really just firmware and will naturally die out.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I strongly support the use of Open Source Software by the Federal Government.
    James Fowler
    Department of State
    Information Management Specialist

    ReplyDelete
  13. Please add my name to the list,

    Nancy Garrity
    Community Manager, Alfresco
    www.alfresco.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I strongly support the letter.

    Prasanth Nair
    Independent Internet Professional & Webmaster at webtecsol and Owner, webtecsol
    www.webtecsol.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Please remember that when citizens are required to submit documents in a proprietary format in order to receive services from the government, you are essentially giving the owner of that format a license to raid those citizens' bank accounts. Truly open document formats should be the minimum standard for any government communication.

    Drew Kime
    QA / Release Manager
    Top 5 financial institution, I am not speaking for my employer

    ReplyDelete
  16. Edmund Billings MD
    Chief Medical Officer
    Medsphere
    www.medsphere.org

    ReplyDelete
  17. The license under which software is provided should be an important consideration for any software procurement, and especially for when taxpayer dollars are being spent.

    K.S. Bhaskar
    Senior Vice President, Fidelity Information Services
    http://fis-gtm.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Speaking from a clinicians perspective, this is what will help CHANGE Health Care by cutting the cost for technology that can prevent hospitals from bleeding financially from inefficient process, medical errors, and vendors charging astronomical prices for their software

    Kris Hanke RN, BSN
    Director of Clinical Operations

    ReplyDelete
  19. I firmly support this letter's attempt to level the playing field between open and closed software options. In healthcare particularly, where collaboration is critical in improving outcomes, the transparancy and relevancy that open source development introduces should be embraced by all. Please add my name to the list:

    Timothy Elwell
    VP, Misys Open Source Solutions, LLC

    ReplyDelete
  20. Agreed.

    Alex Colcernian
    CMO, www.DisklessWorkstations.com
    http://www.LTSP.org

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hospital Information Systems have always been outrageously costly to the IT budgets. Opensource allows a major, improvement to these budgets and to the outcomes of the patients who are being treated at facilities that utilize the systems built on it. I fully support this effort to bring opensource to the government in all aspects of technology, and in particular, healthcare.

    Carolyn Kron
    Sr. Mgr, Technical Support

    ReplyDelete
  22. Vincent Kriek

    http://www.vincentkriek.nl/

    ReplyDelete
  23. Software by the people, for the people.

    Peter Krenesky
    Lead Software Engineer
    OSU Open Source Lab
    http://osuosl.org

    ReplyDelete
  24. This could improve standards adherence as well as training of new employees. By utilizing open software, candidates could review code samples of projects for which they would be applying, and would have access to using its core technologies at home with minimal cost.

    Steven Mathias
    United States Geological Survey
    Department of the Interior
    Web Developer

    ReplyDelete
  25. I Fully support the letter's contents. Thanks

    Tom Mullen
    IT Director

    ReplyDelete
  26. "For these reasons, we urge you to make it mandatory to consider the source of an application solution (open or closed) as part of the government’s technology acquisition process, just as considering accessibility by the handicapped is required today (as defined by section 508)."

    Two points to consider: 1) Mandating "Open Source" will only replace on problem with another. Level the playing field, then let the market take care of the rest. If open source brings value to the equation, then it will survive. 2) This is not a zero-sum game. Realistic outcome will be a combination of open source and proprietary in solutions. Again, let water find its level.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Paulo Alexandre Pereira

    Business Intelligence Consultant

    http://lof-ubuntu-xp.lofspot.net/

    ReplyDelete
  28. 100% supports this as a current government employee!

    ReplyDelete
  29. @Matthew

    "Open source is no better than closed source. The applications should be picked on what is best for the job, not on a silly ideological war."

    In a lot of cases this is true; however, many times open source is also no WORSE than closed source. Also, it carries economic benefits, as many freeware programs are free for personal use only, whereas open source software is free for use in any environment, be it personal, government, commercial, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  30. James Vivian
    Web Developer, Ninja
    Dealer.com

    ReplyDelete
  31. Open source software just makes sense. I support this letter wholeheartedly.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Please add my name to the list.

    Erica Brescia
    CEO
    BitRock

    ReplyDelete
  33. Open-source is not charity, it's good for business and economy!

    Irakli Nadareishvili
    Software Architect
    Phase2 Technology

    ReplyDelete
  34. Security, flexibility, licensing issues, and reviewable and verifiable source code for voting machines -- all good reasons.

    Plus a number of other countries are starting to explore open source options --

    Mr. President, we must not allow... an open-source gap!

    J Wood
    U. of Virginia

    ReplyDelete
  35. Common use of common intelligence, for the better good of humanity. Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I agree to all contents of this letter.

    Andrew W. Ross
    Bowling Green State University

    ReplyDelete
  37. Please Obama oh please oh please oh please

    ReplyDelete
  38. Government Open Source Technology (GOTS) - the time has come.

    Resources are increasingly finite. Why expend them over and over again for each and every license/seat to use a particular piece of proprietary commercial software? Rather, expend much smaller amounts of scarce public funds once to have the bits of desired or necessary functionality written into the open source software. Software companies and free-lance developers can still make a living writing the code. They get paid for their time and materials, or skills in assisting with implementation contracts, and don't retain any rights to the end product itself.

    Employ a transparent governance process through an elected community of practice that includes not just Federal Gov users, but State Gov, Tribal Gov, Local Gov and NGO users as well. Make the enhancements as re-usable as possible for the widest community benefit.

    Then we can spend the rest of the scare government funding we didn't spend on buying 10,000 seats of ProductX on some of the million and one things that also needs attention.

    ReplyDelete
  39. "Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off." Franklin D Roosevelt

    Brett D Maurer

    Stark State College

    ReplyDelete
  40. Excellent letter. Collaboratively developed, open source HIT will help fast-track standards-based, interoperable healthcare systems.

    Jon Teichrow
    President, WebReach, Inc.
    Mirth Project
    www.webreachinc.com

    ReplyDelete
  41. I add my support.

    Sam Britt
    Computational Engineering Graduate Student
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    ReplyDelete
  42. I add my support as well.

    Timothy Alexander
    Quality Assurance
    West Corporation

    ReplyDelete
  43. Open Source in Education is a must!

    Oliver J. Richards
    High School Math and CS teacher

    ReplyDelete
  44. Definitely support this, though I'm not much...

    Neal Gompa
    QA, Enano CMS Project
    http://enanocms.org

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hear hear!

    Marcus Estes
    OpenSourcery
    http://opensourcery.com

    ReplyDelete
  46. This would be mutually beneficial to government and citizens alike. I support it wholeheartedly.

    Warren Harris
    Sr. Engineer
    Metaweb Technologies, Inc.
    http://freebase.com

    ReplyDelete
  47. There is only one way to transparent Government, and that is through Open Source.
    If the Government has a problem with the software, they can change it/ fix it. Can you do that with closed/proprietary software?


    Jeff Martin
    Rogue Developer (unemployed)

    ReplyDelete
  48. Help to make/keep the United States as a major contender in the evolution of science and technology. The adoption of Open Source both in practice and as a way of thinking, allows for true innovation and accelerated technological accomplishment. Please make it happen.

    Shannon VanWagner
    GNU/Linux Enthusiast and IT Ninja
    http://humans-enabled.com

    ReplyDelete
  49. I completely support open source software of all kinds. I am not very fond of the idea that our tax dollars are going to support "The Empire(Microsoft or any affiliate)", when open source software is there for either a fraction of the cost or FREE! The support and development community for open source is amazing. As stated earlier in a previous comment, Open source is exactly that, you can manipulate it to suit your needs. Please consider this letter, although originating from the corporate firms of open source, it has the support of the "little guys" too. Open source is an open community that supports its own, regardless of differences.

    John Murphy
    voice of "the little guys"
    Jefferson City, Missouri

    ReplyDelete
  50. I have long questioned the use of taxpayer money to purchase expensive, locked-in, and proprietary software without so much as acknowledging that alternatives exist, let alone seriously consider them. Government agencies should be better stewards of public funds, and this is an easy place to start. I happily add my name to the list.

    Jason Corfman
    IT Manager
    Daily Reporter, Greenfield, IN

    ReplyDelete
  51. Yeah, let's hear it for open source! If other governments are adopting it, so can ours.

    William Ellison
    Student in Computer Science
    The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

    ReplyDelete
  52. Vikram Nilakantan
    Student, Website Developer
    Open source - reliable, and cost-efficient.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Common sense. Please add my name:

    Katharine Osborne
    Founder
    Candent Media

    ReplyDelete
  54. I believe in this cause.

    Crystal Keen
    Software Developer

    ReplyDelete
  55. This represents viable affordable technology solutions.

    Chris Ruska
    President
    CollaborActions

    ReplyDelete
  56. I believe in this cause too... not only the effort in the USA to support the open source, it must be an effort in all countries around the world.

    Juan Valencia
    Computer Science Engineer

    ReplyDelete
  57. Defy vendor lock-in; promote open source, open standards and open data formats.

    David Norton
    IST Student

    ReplyDelete
  58. Something I support!

    Steve Burdine
    Student

    ReplyDelete
  59. I support the use of OpenSource Software in Government.

    David Huffman
    Software Engineer
    Storix, Inc.
    www.storix.com

    ReplyDelete
  60. I fully support the use of Open Source Software in any and all environments when it can be proven to be demonstrably better than Closed Source Software.

    ReplyDelete
  61. I support Open Source whenever possible and when it makes economic sense. I believe it makes perfect sense in this case especially.

    Make that change and use Open Source Software.
    It's for the people and by the people!

    ReplyDelete
  62. Both the United States and Open Source Software are all about freedom. There should be no debate on this issue.

    Gare Calhoun
    http://www.accessdataservices.com/

    ReplyDelete
  63. Free is not Open and Open is not always free. The signatories are in the business of selling services, not software, so of course they support a business model that supports their business. Citzens should demand interoperability from all government software solutions that they access, but that can be open or proprietary software. In the end it's the value of the solution and it's return on investment which should be the deciding factor in choosing government IT solutions.

    ReplyDelete
  64. I add my name to this list and fully support the above letter! Open Source Software is the future of the computing Industry, and is more fiscally responsible for all Government agencies, in addition to being more stable and secure than proprietary alternatives.

    Rick Stanley
    President
    Rick Stanley, Inc.
    www.rsiny.com

    ReplyDelete
  65. The constitution PROHIBITS the federal government from owning copyright in anything. However; The government PAYS FOR the development of much software. Requiring that all software written with federal government funding be made available under an open source license would help honor the original intent of the constitution that these "publications" be made widely available so that all citizens can benefit from them.

    ReplyDelete
  66. I am in full support of the statements in this letter and believe that the combination of Open Source and federal programs can do for technology what the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways under Eisenhower has done for transportation.

    David Uhlman
    Chief Executive Officer
    ClearHealth Inc.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Margaret Aranyosi
    Webmaster
    The Digital Tipping Point
    http://digitaltippingpoint.com/

    ReplyDelete
  68. Purchases made with tax payers money should not be used to support a proprietary monopoly.

    "We-the-people" are only shooting ourselves in the foot. We need to consider how future generations will open today's documents.

    Will we be locked into a proprietary company forever?

    ReplyDelete
  69. I strongly support the letter and especially like the software acquisition savings. While software companies may go out of busineess or drop product lines, open source communities are here to stay. It's a work of love.

    ReplyDelete
  70. I agree whole heartedly with this letter. If the price and performance of a Proprietary Software Program and an Free Software Program are similar, then the Free Software Program should always be chosen by government due to it's openness and the ability to for all to examine its functioning.

    Scott Rushfeldt
    Sale Engineer
    ILS Technologyk

    ReplyDelete
  71. Open Source, in my opinion is the way of the future, cost effective, stable due to active and open bug tracking, and multi-implementation. It would be foolish for our government not to continue it's exploration of Open Source alternatives.

    ReplyDelete
  72. This "stimulus" bill does nothing but stimulate the welfare class. The economy cannot recover unless you make broad across-the-board tax cuts. I support open source in a free market, but I do not support Obama's socialist agenda and cradle-to-grave entitlement philosophy.

    ReplyDelete
  73. go open and save some money

    ReplyDelete
  74. I am all for government going "Open" and software is a prefect place to start. Let's go Tux!!!

    ReplyDelete
  75. Open Source is the way of today. It's time to end the archaic bureaucracy of the past and adopt Open Source for the inter-operable, open future.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Open source is transparent, and reliable. I have benefited by using applications in Sakai, Joomla, and Drupal. I support open source software use by the government.

    ReplyDelete
  77. I wholeheartedly support open source. I'm a self-taught professional programmer and the reason I was able to teach myself and thus earn my living doing something I love was because of open source.

    It really does change lives, as well as being more secure, stable, efficient, etc. Also, it doesn't make a crime of sharing useful patterns with your fellow man, something which is very noble, unlike closed source, which essentially makes it illegal to share "computer recepies" (programs) with one's fellow man.

    The way forward is OPEN...

    ReplyDelete
  78. Michael Vinal
    VP Operations
    WebPrez, LLC.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Add my support
    http://groups.google.com/group/chlug/browse_thread/thread/57a4d57ea41e036e#
    Gerald Neale, RN
    Clinical Analyst
    University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-SOM

    ReplyDelete
  80. We at Lucid Imagination wholeheartedly support the initiative proposed through this letter. As a company exclusively dedicated to supporting Apache Lucene and Solr enterprise search technology, among the top-15 open source projects, we have an intimate understanding of what has driven its tremendous adoption, particularly within Federal agencies. Topping the list are cost effectiveness and innovation, especially as compared to proprietary offerings.

    As an example, the Library of Congress has invested greatly in the use of Lucene to make its information and knowledge more accessible to citizens through the Web. It would be an ideal solution for the new initiatives called for by the Obama administration, such as providing robust search capabilities for electronic medical health records.

    We look forward to working with the government on these projects.

    Eric Gries
    CEO
    Lucid Imagination
    blog.lucidimagination.com

    ReplyDelete
  81. Daniel Davies
    (currently unemployed) IT Technician
    Salford, Greater Manchester
    United Kingdom

    ReplyDelete
  82. Don't forget open source for K-12 schools!

    ReplyDelete
  83. I fully support this letter.

    Along with this new way of developing more reliable software at lower cost; the open source business model is creating companies that are more efficient and able to put a greater percentage of resources toward innovation. These are the types businesses that will help drive the economic recovery.

    Doug Moran
    VP Community & Co-Founder
    Pentaho - open source business intelligence
    www.pentaho.com

    ReplyDelete
  84. I fully support this initiative.

    For 20 years we have been told that computer costs will soon be so low that every school will be able to afford all the workstations they want. If we go the proprietary route this day will never come: 1) every few years MS releases another version of their OS that requires 3 times as much horsepower as the previous OS, and 2) software licensing costs never decrease. Open Source fixes both problems: 1) Linux/BSD can run on cheap old hardware, and 2) there are no licensing fees.

    President Obama: you need to talk to Mark Huffman at the Indian State Department of Education. He heads an initiative that has put Open Source software in the hands of 150,000 Indiana H.S. students. Open Source works in the schools.

    ReplyDelete
  85. I support open source-software for its transparency, economy and educational value.

    ReplyDelete
  86. I support open-source software for its transparency, economy and educational value.

    ReplyDelete
  87. I fully support this initiative.
    Joshua Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  88. I do agree on most of the contents of this letter. I'm a bit disturbed however about the specific examples given. Open Source and Creative Commons licensing schemes definitively need to be integrated in the tools the new administration will chose, directly or indirectly, to solve some of these problems. There is, in my opinion, no need to give specific examples in this letter, it is even counterproductive, the public gain from the use of such licensing needs however better explaining, both in terms of cost/effectiveness of the deployment and support of concrete solutions, but also in terms of intellectual property relating to development and enhancement of specific software solutions.

    ReplyDelete
  89. As an implementor of systems using open source solutions, I fully support this effort.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Not only has the adoption of open source saved consumers roughly $60 billion per year, it encourages collaboration and innovation in software development.

    ReplyDelete
  91. http://symbiosoft.net/Please_Consider_Open_Source
    "Following the unpreceding movement started by Sun's co-founder Scott McNealy, some Open Source tenors are now requesting in an open letter to US President Barak Obama to consider Open Source as part of the US Government software acquisition process.

    I'm 100% behind that initiative and I wish it could have an impact, where I live, in Canada. North America is still far behind the European Union in term of Open Source adoption rate by corporations and government. May be the economic crisis will make everybody reconsider their procurement processes?"

    ReplyDelete
  92. Open Source Software promotes trust, collaboration, and empowers everyone involved in the process. It also ensures that the end result is excellent (not just commercially viable). I have been working with libraries to help them understand the similarity in the underlying principles of librarianship and Open Source....and I agree these same principles are shared by the Obama administration: transparency, empowerment, access. Yes we can!

    ReplyDelete
  93. It is encouraging that corporate officers support the use and dissemination of Open Source software and standards. As an end-user, I applaud such efforts. Open Source software and standards promote confidence in the tools and end-user uses, that they not be used for hidden purposes for nefarious reasons. Open Source software and standards promote trust in the organizations that use them, demonstrating that the end-user's privacy is important to those organizations. Open Source software and standards also ensure that more people are capable of communicating with each other, eliminating the artificial barriers imposed by enterprises whose sole concern is making money at the expense of the end-users.

    I am an end-user. My opinions are based on my experiences with dealing with everything from government entities and media outlets to other end-users who have trapped themselves away from a whole segment of civilization by their dependence on proprietary software and standards, and their potentially intentional ignorance of Open Source software and standards. I have seen, first hand, the monetary savings that can be had by the use of Open Source standards and software. I, therefore, encourage you and the government to support the further use of Open Source standards and software.

    Craig A. Eddy
    Member, Ubuntu-Arizona LoCo

    ReplyDelete
  94. I fully support this letter.
    On Elpeleg
    Senior Developer

    WebAPP Open Source, Perl CMS.
    http://www.web-app.net

    ReplyDelete
  95. In today's world where software plays a major role in every field, open source is a necessary to promote true technological growth. I fully support and encourage the ideals of this letter.

    Rosen N. Diankov,
    Robotics Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon University
    http://www.ri.cmu.edu

    ReplyDelete
  96. The profligacy of technology budgets at Federal/State/Local Government level has to stop.

    The secret handshakes with commercial vendors and monster RFPs designed to put innovative, agile but smaller firms out of the reckoning have to stop.

    Taking on projects that are unfeasibly large in scope, with low accountability and have development cycles lasting 12+ months need to go as well.

    As much as Government needs a technological introspection, it needs one at a procedural and approach level even more.

    Cheers,

    Zubin Wadia
    CTO
    ImageWork Technologies
    http://www.imagework.com/

    http://zwadia.com/

    ReplyDelete
  97. Please standardize on open source software for the government that is the most free country in the world. Open source is not only free in price but free as in the people have a choice to what software to use that best suits their requirements.

    The citizens of this country should not have to pay a price to one vendor to read their documents.

    Open source forces open standards and we should standardize on the open document format (ODF) because it is the only ISO standard that is implemented in more than one product and is the defacto standard for ISO approved document formats.

    The citizens of the country should not have to pay a price in both cost and product choice/lock-in just to read their documents that their government produces.

    This country was made for the people by the people not by the corporations for the corporations.

    Thank you and please consider open source in the goverment.

    James M. Susanka
    Senior Systems Analyst
    Att
    http://suezz-linuxtech.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  98. Home desktop user, GNU+Linux only.

    Sean M Campbell
    3275 E Polk Rd.
    Hart, MI 49420

    ReplyDelete
  99. I support this letter.

    Robert McCrory
    Stillwater, OK

    ReplyDelete
  100. Open Source provides stable, secure, and truly useful operating systems and applications. Free is also good!

    Brett Charbeneau
    Network Administrator / Network Security Consultant
    Williamsburg, VA

    ReplyDelete
  101. I support this letter and the Open Source community and I urge President Obama and other leaders in politics and business to seriously consider Open Source during these uncertain economic times


    Michele (Mike) Hjorleifsson
    Computer Security / Open Source / Apple Computing Expert
    Port Saint Lucie, Florida

    ReplyDelete
  102. i support the promotion of open-source

    Ashish
    www.newcreationit.com

    ReplyDelete
  103. Well done! Foster healthy growth and prosperity in the software market through open source.

    Tomas Gustavsson
    CTO
    PrimeKey Solutions AB
    www.ejbca.org

    ReplyDelete
  104. I support this proposal. I would like to see government grants go directly to open-source projects and government related projects which use open-source, like the Sunlight Foundation (http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/) and the EFF.org.

    ReplyDelete
  105. The biggest issue, as I see it, is ensuring that a solution implemented by the Federal government, for use at a national level - whether by states, the healthcare industry, or whatever - needs to have three defining characteristics: 1) That it can be implemented on the infrastructure in use by the implementing agency, whether Windows, Linux, Unix or something else, 2) that it should not be encumbered by patents and 3) that it should not result in any vendor lock-in. Open source is the only avenue to these results.

    I wholeheartedly agree.

    Jason Antman
    Systems Programmer
    Rutgers University

    System Administrator
    Midland Park Volunteer Ambulance Corps (501(c)(3))
    Midland Park, NJ

    ReplyDelete
  106. I support this letter to President Obama. I am calling for a law that states: 'All Electronic Medical Record software purchased with federal funds must be licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3.'

    Ignacio Valdes, MD, MS
    Editor: http://www.linuxmednews.com
    Linux Medical News

    ReplyDelete
  107. Although I am an European I support this letter to President Obama.

    Human Knowledge belongs to the World!

    Peter
    Webdeveloper, Austria

    ReplyDelete
  108. I've been an IT guy for 15 years now. Using Windows, MAC 9 & 10 and finally Linux and open source software.
    My professional life requires me to use/support windows in all it's forms. My personal life I prefer the MAC and Linux. The MAC I was lucky enough to be given otherwise I would be limited to Linux and open source only, because of financial reasons. Open source is a great idea that I believe would fit the problems faced by our country. It's readily available, it's free and it has a wide range of support. Vista as an example is a private software that missed the mark in the fact that it met no customer requirements because no one bothered to find out what they required or what they would like to see in the upcoming release. Open source differs in that end there are 1000s of useful add on apps one can choose from and since there are plenty off forums all one needs to do is post a recommendation and someone will most likely figure out a way to get it done. In the windows world, you are forced to the new operating system if and when you upgrade your hardware from a manufacturer. I won't move my corporation to Vista ever, just from the sheer point of lost productivity. I found that once I moved to Linux at home and learned what I needed to that I was empowered to be much more productive. So in that I support using open source and this letter.

    ReplyDelete
  109. One day we have to think open source way...lets start today and build necessary expertise to support.

    I support using open source in a controlled environment and slowly adopt it for day to day task.

    sanjeev upadhyay
    http://sqldbaworld.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  110. First off we would like to congratulate you on your fine public speaking skills. It looks like those who said the Obama Administration would strike while the iron is hot may have been correct, and the Administration may be doing it in a way that does not require them to even get a vote in Congress.

    Thanks,
    Sujan
    my site

    ReplyDelete
  111. I also support this initiative.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Ihssan Abukhalaf
    Founder
    LimeTech Solutions
    http://limetechsolutions.com
    24online.com.jo

    ReplyDelete
  113. Signed

    Carlos Ravelo
    Web App Developer

    ReplyDelete
  114. Imagine the billions of dollars in support and software licensing costs that could be used for other-more important ventures. There is no reason to use closed source software for practical applications and normal everyday functions. Break free from the shameful bureaucracy and unprecedented monopoly closed source vendors have in the United States. I am on board with the movement for the United States to implement an Open Source campaign for our Health Care System and beyond!
    Cordially,
    Benjamin M. Wasley - IT Professional and Open Source Advocate.
    http://www.benwasley.com

    ReplyDelete
  115. Dear Mr. President,

    I am an open source evangelist and I believe that open source software should be used by everybody in the world, not just government agencies.

    Signed,

    Mr. Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming) Dip(Mechatronics) BEng(Hons)Mechanical Engineering
    Alumnus, Singapore Polytechnic, National University of Singapore
    Technical Support Engineer
    Asiasoft Online Pte Ltd
    Mobile Phone: +65-9648-9798
    Personal Email: space.time.universe@gmail.com
    Republic of Singapore

    ReplyDelete
  116. With a number of data entry india through an office everyday, it can be time consuming and tiring to take care of all the form processing. Instead of relying on human help, you can quickly accomplish your task with forms processing automation. Pages and pages of written or computerized data and are converted into an electronic form that is convenient for use with forms processing.

    ReplyDelete
  117. America can save a lot.
    I sign it too.

    ReplyDelete
  118. software products without Open source in the current world is unimaginable. OS products should be given equal opportunity as their counterparts.

    ReplyDelete
  119. SUBJECT: [URGENT] Assistance Requested in Looking for Dr Francis T. Seow, Harvard Law School Research Fellow

    Hi,

    First, I would like to apologize for the out-of-topic post. I will keep this as short as I possibly could.

    Does anybody know Dr. Francis T. Seow, the former Solicitor-General from the Republic of Singapore? I want to contact him but can't seem to find his email address or telephone number on the internet. Could you help me?

    Do you also know how I can contact all the justices of the Judicial Committee of the UK Privy Council and all the Lords of the UK House of Lords? According to the UK Parliament website, it says that many Peers do not have public email addresses.

    I would like to apologize again for using this platform to get my message across as my email accounts may have been compromised.

    Thank you very much.

    Yours sincerely,

    Mr. Teo En Ming
    Hanyu Pinyin Name: Zhang Enming
    Facebook: Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)
    Photo (1): http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7534/enmingteodscf2511.jpg
    Photo (2): http://i.imgur.com/CLifZ.jpg
    Mobile Phone (Starhub Pre-paid): +65-8369-2618
    Singapore Citizen

    ReplyDelete
  120. SUBJECT: [URGENT] Plea for Medical Help/Assistance

    Redundant links for reading the text of my plea:

    http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=99194191941&topic=14942

    http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=339188887615&topic=15732

    http://shorttext.com/b0p5lpnvx8

    http://pastebin.com/mYp4VDrm

    http://justpaste.it/2y3

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/32152244/Untitled

    Yours sincerely,

    Mr. Teo En Ming
    Hanyu Pinyin Name: Zhang Enming
    Citizenship: Singapore Citizen
    Facebook: Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)
    Mobile Phone (Starhub Prepaid): +65-8369-2618
    For online photos of me when I was a kid, please scroll down to the bottom of my signature.
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(1): http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6264/enmingteodscf2510.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(2): http://i41.tinypic.com/adnfx5.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(3): http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7534/enmingteodscf2511.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(4): http://i40.tinypic.com/dc7hmq.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(5): http://i.imgur.com/SIICh.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(6): http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2233/enmingteodscf2512.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(7): http://i40.tinypic.com/2u8l62r.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(8): http://i.imgur.com/CLifZ.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(9): http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/fa956dddab.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(10): http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/f93b37b773.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(11): http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/ce0cd663ef.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(12): http://img5.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/5415/54156759ac8ecbba1e2368c63d203a8da91680a.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(13): http://img9.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/5415/5415679e958679286a919425aca4c2055fb0268.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(14): http://img4.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/5415/54156847596a5a067d2a7267362ebf8c7f9d734.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(15): http://xs.to/image-68D0_4BEB7F90.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(16): http://xs.to/image-A7E3_4BEB7FE7.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(17): http://xs.to/image-E303_4BEB802E.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(18): http://i39.tinypic.com/bet4yf.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(19): http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/5139/teoenmingzhangenming.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(20): http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/a0e0744c82.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(21): http://img6.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/5415/5415686db861b07e07c010d8b610b14782f51fc.jpg
    MY ONLINE PHOTO(22): http://xs.to/image-4016_4BEB806B.jpg
    Dip(Mechatronics) BEng(Hons)(Mechanical Engineering)
    Alma Maters:
    (1) Singapore Polytechnic Graduated 1998
    (2) National University of Singapore Graduated 2006
    My Primary Blog: http://teo-en-ming-aka-zhang-enming.blogspot.com
    My Secondary Blog: http://enmingteo.wordpress.com
    My Youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/enmingteo
    Location: Bedok Reservoir Road, Singapore
    ZIP: 470103
    Place of Birth: Singapore
    National Identity Card No: S78*6*2*H
    Date of Birth: 5th March 1978 A.D.
    Race: Chinese
    Dialect Group: Hokkien
    Height: 1.78 meters
    Online photos of myself when I was a kid:
    (1) http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/9020/nursery01.jpg
    (2) http://i40.tinypic.com/k4jhhf.jpg
    (3) http://imgur.com/Ywca3.jpg
    (4) http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/2db37a4403.jpg
    (5) http://img8.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/5416/54166180c1dec144cde2b6275ad5da78601e4fe.jpeg
    (6) http://xs.to/image-C02E_4BEBBF47.jpg
    Email: space.time.universe(at)gmail.com
    Alt email: enmingteo(at)gmx.com

    ReplyDelete
  121. Hey its really nice
    Thanks for sharing this
    Nightingalemd on Demand ASP EMR is a highly reputed, fully web-based and hosted Electronic Medical Records (EMR). All you need is an Internet connection for secure access to your clinical management system. Practice management systems, electronic medical record system, EMR solution.

    ReplyDelete
  122. SomeoneIsGettingRichAndFamousButItIsntMe(TM)

    If OSS offers the same--orbetter--usability, security,and value it should be considered for some cases. However, demanding that it be used or having to be taken into account is nothing more thand ideological dogma, or digital religion if you prefer. I, and many others, don't like the idea of our info, or national secrets being tied into software whose source code is flaaping around in the internet wind waiting for some hacker to come along and look for the inevitable loopholes.

    ReplyDelete
  123. What gorgeous projects you created. Especially love the Enya with the punchinella touch.
    designer colleen handbags
    Monogram Canvas

    ReplyDelete
  124. I hope that President Obama arleady read this blog. I appreciate also the contribution of the owner of some Online Collaboration Tools and for the developer. Hope this will be successful!

    ReplyDelete