On Friday 12 August 2005 12:31, Anurag wrote:
Sometime on Fri, Aug 12, 2005 at 02:00:50AM +0530, Anand M R said:
I read this today in express computer that the Maharashtra govt has signed an MOU with M$ to spread computer literacy in the state. All this after the president has openly endorsed FLOSS and recommended it in all future govt projects.
In the last government, when Arun Shourie was the IT minister, he made it clear that he does not differentiate between the two software development practices, FreeSoftware and Proprietary, and each should get equal chances to grow.
Naturally. It's not his money he's spending. Besides being ill informed the ministers are also irresponsible. And Arun shourie is one ignorant who thinks that he knows everything. In more recent times he has admitted as much about his past quixotic crusades.
That apart, by enclosing public data in closed formats the government is PROMOTING somebody elses business and forcing the public to purchase software to access that data.
rgds jtd