[ale] Another Reason to use OSS in Government

[Irv Mullins]

On Friday 06 December 2002 01:28 pm, you wrote:
> I've wondered about this sort of thing. In fact, as long ago as 1993, I
> encountered a situation professionally where a Government contractor was
> in a position to keep tabs on their Federal overseers through software
> they had written.
>
> Because of the closed-source, "black-box" nature of the software, part
> of the nefariousness of the whole situation was the absence of a good
> way to detect *if* something untoward were going on or exactly *who* was
> responsible for it, and no good way to defend against it.

*This* Oussama (chairman of the s.w. co.) hasn't been convicted of anything 
yet, but you really have to wonder whats going on. Take Microsoft for example.
We, the taxpayers, are helping to support a convicted monopolist. 

Were he still alive, no doubt Al Capone could get a contract sweeping out the 
U.S.Treasury vaults every evening. Is a single-digit IQ the only requirement 
for government employment?

Irv







_______________________________________________
Ale mailing list
Ale at ale.org
http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale