[Osia-members] Interesting read about FOSS in USA

[Ryan Cross]

I think there is a difference between developers or other people more
heavily involved with tech and tech decisions compared to end users &
general staff considering desktops operating systems and desktop software.
I don’t think that the statement is invalid here, it is just not as strong.

(Being American and living/working in AU the last 10 year) My anecdotal
evidence would suggest that young people here have rarely heard of Linux
and generally think of any open source software projects they use as simply
“free software” or “internet software”, rarely some even think of it as
“cracked/pirated software”. However, most people more familiar with tech
and especially developers, are much more familiar with OSS than their more
mature counterparts. There is definitely still a strong culture of
skepticism or fear within corporations about using OSS, though they often
are using it without knowing. Usage of OSS in the web is particularly
prevalent and generally goes unnoticed by most people.

I also see startups/entrepreneurs more interested and willing to use OSS
software in their business - mostly from a cost perspective, but not
always. I think the relative strength of Australia’s startup ecosystem
compared to the US’s also mirrors some of the different levels of OSS
adoption.

Anecdotally, once you actually convince management to use OSS often it is
the legal side of corporations that are the biggest blockers of OSS,
generally from 2 areas:
1) corporations don’t have any way of legally engaging with a
non-incorporated OSS project - it just seems like it is a near impossible
option conceptually for them. If they can’t buy it and sign a contract
(often I think for liability placement), then they don’t know what to do.
2) For contractors who want to deliver OSS-based solutions, there is a
similar confusion or refusal to consider that they might not “own” the
software being delivered.
So far, I have only met 1 lawyer in Australia that doesn’t give you a blank
stare when talk about the GPL or have a non-standard IP clause in your
contract.

Looking forward to any campaigns that help encourage more OSS usage though!

​Thanks​


Ryan Cross
ryan at crossfunctional.net
http://crossfunctional.net
O: (02) 800 800 99




On 25 April 2014 14:11, Daniel Jitnah <djitnah at greenwareit.com.au> wrote:

> Link to an interesting article, specially the section relating to
> acquisition of FOSS from a US Gov perspective.
>
> http://opensource.com/government/14/4/interview-david-wheeler
>
> Any comment about the discussion to "commercial software" in the above,
> in relation to Australian law?
>
> One comment in that article and also mentioned somewhere else recently
> is the one relating to increased FOSS penetration:
>
> "... One reason for the trend is that younger people in IT are used to
> using OSS, so as they enter the workforce they come understanding OSS
> instead of being ignorant or resistant"
>
> Anecdotally this would appear *not* to be the case in Australia.
>
> 1. Surveys by both LA and Linux Users of Victoria suggest that Linux and
> OSS users are actually older users 40+.  Among Linux and OSS users,
> younger <25 yrs number very low. (2% from respondent from LUV survey in
> 2011 - 160 respondents)
> 2. Visibility of OSS in Tertiary and Secondary education sector here has
> been and is still very low.
>
> The comment that younger people "... come into the workforce
> understanding OSS ..." does not seem to be valid here.
>
> Note that OSIA will likely be announcing a project to address this
> situation soon.
>
>
> Regards,
> Daniel.
> _______________________________________________
> Osia-members mailing list
> Osia-members at osia.com.au
> http://www.osia.com.au/mailman/listinfo/osia-members
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.osia.com.au/pipermail/osia-members/attachments/20140426/e4eb3755/attachment.html>