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<excerpt> The Initiative for Software Choice, which counts Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Intel among its backers, said in comments filed Tuesday that the department should "avoid crafting needless and potentially detrimental IT policy to promote the use" of open-source software. "Open source" means every software developer can view the source code for software, modify it, and use it for free.

The initiative, which launched in May and is chaired by a group called CompTIA, an organization that has close ties to Microsoft, is worried about a recent report that concluded the Defense Department relies on open-source software and recommended its further adoption.

Written by defense contractor MITRE, the report said that free and open-source software "plays a more critical role in the (Defense Department) than has been generally recognized" and endorsed it as a viable alternative to proprietary Microsoft products.