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Public Services and Government Branches Compelled to Adopt Free/Libre Software

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Summary: As Free (as in freedom) software becomes the norm it is evident that proprietary software companies -- not Free/Open Source software proponents -- need to work hard to justify procurement through them

Desktop GNU/Linux is coming to more store shelves [1], even if it's being branded "Chromebook" or whatever [2]. It is abundantly clear -- and Intel agrees -- that GNU/Linux is the future of the desktop, branding questions aside. Linux/Android already dominates mobile.



It has become harder to dismiss GNU/Linux or Free software as "hype" or "passing fad". Governments are being pressured by voters to explore Free/libre options and in this process of public advocacy we see changes across Europe [3-5]. Ben Balter calls for "[o]pen standards, open formats, [and] open systems" [6] because only by freeing up data and code can the government earn trust.

There are many success stories for Free software this month. In a matter of days the movement of Free software will officially turn 30.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Retail Shelf-space For GNU/Linux PCs
    I was reading a decent article about buying PCs with GNU/Linux installed. It all comes down to retail shelf-space and even in a country like Brazil where millions of GNU/Linux PCs are manufactured each year, it is difficult to find them on retail shelves.


  2. Exploring the Samsung ARM Chromebook 3G
    Back in late 2010, Google announced a "Chromebook"—a low-cost, entry-level netbook that would run Google's own operating system, ChromeOS. Google's vision of ChromeOS, although based on Linux, basically would be a giant Web browser, with all the apps on the machine running in the browser. ChromeOS would be a nearly stateless computer, with all the user's apps based in Google's cloud, running the Google Apps suite.


  3. France's Defence ministry dutiful studies free software


  4. Open source to formalise European railway specifications


  5. Touring Norway's municipalities kindles open source interest
    A two-month tour by Friprog, Norway's free and open source software resource centre group, visiting all municipal administrations, helped to raise the profile of this type of software solutions, says Morten Amundsen, the centre's director. "We turned up several applications that the administrations want to share with others; and helped broker a deal with a proprietary software supplier to support a connection with an open source application."


  6. Four tips for building better apps for government
    Government CIOs have ample resources to do a great job for their communities and citizens. They have smart, well-intentioned people working for them and more low-hanging fruit than most private-sector CIOs dream of.

    [...]

    Open. Barriers to the free-flow of information just add friction and more often than not, you just end up shooting yourself in the foot. Make open the default. Open standards, open formats, open systems. Expose process. Prefer social and cultural norms to technical constraints. Don’t lock it down unless you absolutely have to. Trust people.




Recent Techrights' Posts

"Bad Shim Signature"; So 'Secure' That It Overrides Users' Preferences and Turns Itself Back on (Coercive Measure)
This was a few hours ago
We Covered UEFI 'Secure Boot' Scandals. The World Listened.
To hell with UEFI 'secure boot'
Fake News With Fake Numbers About Microsoft
"This is what happens when the world's economy is governed by sick old men"
Slopwatch: "Google News" is Fast Becoming a Mashup of Slopfarms, Linux Journal ("LJ") is a Dump of LLM Slop
Well done, Google News. Google itself can flourish as a slopfarm mashup.
Torturing Users Who Just Want to Run GNU/Linux on Their Own PC
"Linux does not want to install"
European Authorities, Already Bribed and Infiltrated by Microsoft, Won't Help You Find BigBlueButton, Jami, Ring, and Jitsi
Because they're paid by Microsoft and are Microsoft 'addicts' themselves
 
Links 14/09/2025: Disasters for CEOs Obsessed With Slop and Slop Companies School Like Fish
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"Bad Shim Signature" (Microsoft 'Secure' Boot)
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"I never dreamed of being a professor"
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Over at Tux Machines...
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Microsoft Inside Your Linux: "Security vulnerability that allowed an attacker to bypass UEFI Secure Boot."
2 hours ago
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They've just jumped the shark entirely
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Notice how many times they mention "AI"
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Nothing to see here, move along
Linux Mint 9/11: "4th One Today..." (in Reddit)
Remember that not everyone having an issue reports it to social control media like Reddit
Nepal Will Fall Without a Single Shot Fired, Thanks to Social Control Media
Or very few shots (by the authorities)
European Corruption in the European Patent Office (EPO) Targets Culture
"In reality, the project includes a new “legal instrument” shifting administrative burden and liability on EPO staff while creating new uncertainty and externalising Amicale activities."
UEFI Secure Boot Failing, as Expected for Nearly 15 Years Already (Techrights Said This Since 2012)
in the media
Debian 9/11
people report this issue
Gemini and Web Links 13/09/2025: MElon's Slop Grift and "Autonomous Trains"
Links for the day
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You cannot "see" a person's mind, until the mouth opens
Leak: European Patent Office (EPO) is Now Attacking Amicale Clubs
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Can We Please Stop Celebrating Shooters?
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Oracle Fraud (or Defrauding Shareholders)
"the obvious [lie] is that watts are (wasted) electricity [and] and FLOPS are computing capacity"
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Links for the day
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Slopwatch: Slow Slop Day
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Gemini Links 12/09/2025: Familiarity and Secondary Dominants
Links for the day
Explaining (in Length and Depth) the Damage Matthew Garrett Did to Linux and to GNU/Linux Users
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Links for the day
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The man who puts principles before PR/optics
The Mind of the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI'
in a nutshell
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In the news today (right now), as published in the past few hours
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Links for the day
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Links for the day
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Who asked for this anyway?
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Over at Tux Machines...
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