Interesting article in today's Register:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/30/uk_picks_open_document_format_for_all_government_files/

It would make huge sense for me for governments to head towards everything public being open source/open document format. This would save Joe Average having to buy the latest MS Office to gain access to online facilities. - but the ethical arguments are even more compelling.

Comments on the article referenced above include this link from 2002 (way back, in computing terms):

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/05/19/ms_in_peruvian_opensource_nightmare/

It seems that Peru was looking at going open-source, and that the local Microsoft rep had written to a government official and lawyer trying to persuade them that this was not a good idea.

I don't think I've ever seen a better-argued case for open-source software than the balanced, thoughtful and occasionally really quite amusing letter which followed. Not for the tl;dr crowd, but for those who can bring themselves to read anything longer than three lines. I can highly recommend it.

Just a couple of "tasters" (and yep, warned you it was long...):

The letter provides the most thoughtful and thorough rebuttal we've ever seen to Microsoft's standard open-source terror boilerplate. ®


It is also necessary to make it clear that the aim of the Bill we are discussing is not directly related to the amount of direct savings that can by made by using free software in state institutions. That is in any case a marginal aggregate value, but in no way is it the chief focus of the Bill. The basic principles which inspire the Bill are linked to the basic guarantees of a state of law, such as:

Free access to public information by the citizen.
Permanence of public data.
Security of the State and citizens...

....Our proposal brings further security, since the knowledge of the source code will eliminate the growing number of programs with *spy code*.

Pretty prescient - but I thought the general open-source advocacy even more impressive. I'm sure nobody would be amused by  his making MS and its "FUD" look decidedly silly in the process. Would they?