90% of the work I do is in the open source software field. This blog runs off of open source software, as do most. It’s also turned into a multi-billion dollar industry. Imagine, software that is given away for free is now generating tons of revenue in a field that keeps on growing.

I think this whole concept would have made George Bush’s head explode, but Barack Obama seems open to it:

The secret to a more secure and cost effective government is through open source technologies and products.</p>

The claim comes from one of Silicon Valley’s most respected business leaders Scott McNealy, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems.

He revealed he has been asked to prepare a paper on the subject for the new administration.

“It’s intuitively obvious open source is more cost effective and productive than proprietary software,” he said.

“Open source does not require you to pay a penny to Microsoft or IBM or Oracle or any proprietary vendor any money.”

I have championed for this for years now. The government currently is in a love fest with Microsoft, and that costs us billions of dollars alone. Making a move to open source software not only eliminates a bunch of that cost, but also moves us to a much more secure government. I would love to see this come to being and our government kick Microsoft to the curb.