Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
The Initiative for Software Choice appears to be a front group for Microsoft, which is lobbying to stop governments from using open-source software. The governments of Peru and Canada are considering going to open source, which is cheaper (often free) and usually more secure and bug-free than proprietary software like Windows. The Initiative for Software Choice claims that a policy of preference for open source would "discriminate" against "merit" and hurt capitalism. Open-source advocate Bruce Perens responds that Software Choice is trying to "maintain an unfair bias for proprietary software in the market" and has created his own rebuttal web site, Sincere Choice. (This isn't the first time that Microsoft has sponsored a front group. The Freedom to Innovate Network helped defend its interests during federal antitrust hearings.)
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