DoD: open source as good as proprietary software

The Department of Defense Tuesday clarified its stance on open source software saying it is equal to commercial software in almost all cases and by law should be considered by the agency when making technology purchase decisions. It was issued by David Wennergren, deputy CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). In terms of guidance, the memo said OSS meets the definition of "commercial computer software" and that executive agencies are required to include open source when evaluating software that meets their computing needs. The memo was not a policy statement but instead a clarification and guidance on the use of open source software (OSS) within the agency. Top 10 Open Source Hall of Famers In addition, the memo lays out a list of open source positives, including broad peer-review that helps eliminate defects, modification rights that help speed changes when needed, a reduction in the reliance on proprietary vendors, a licensing model that facilitates quick provisioning, cost reduction in some cases, reduction in maintenance and ownership costs, and favorable characteristics for rapid prototyping and experimentation. "I would consider this a milestone day" said John Scott, director of open source software and open integration for Mercury Federal Systems, a technology consultancy to the U.S. government.

But it is not just about usage, it is also about helping create [OSS] by submitting changes back out to the public." Scott says he believes this is the first time guidance has been issued about sharing the government's own open source changes with the public. Scott helped draft some of the open source guidance contained in the memo, which took about 18 months to draft. "The [2003] policy study was OK to use, but this one goes a bit further in expanding on what open source is and why you would want to use it. The memo, an update to a 2003 DoD open source directive, clarified the use of sharing code saying there is a misconception within the agency that modifications must be released to the public. "In contrast, many open source licenses permit the user to modify OSS for internal use without being obligated to distribute source code to the public," the memo says. On the other hand, the DoD says code fixes and enhancements developed for the government should be released to the public, but only under certain conditions, such as the absence of export or other federal restrictions. It goes on to advise users to understand distribution requirements for open source licenses and mentions the GNU General Public License and its specific distribution rules. The memo also makes a distinction between freeware and open source software, which previously was the source of confusion and debate within the agency, Scott said.

In fact, Scott says from one-third to one-half of the software used inside the DoD is open source. The DoD already has open source running as part of classified and unclassified systems. The memo defines OSS as "software for which the human-readable source code is available for use, study, reuse, modification, enhancement, and redistribution by the users of that software." The DoD memo comes on the heels of the Obama Administration selecting Drupal to power its whitehouse.gov Web site Follow John on Twitter: twitter.com/johnfontana

Ballmer flogged, other execs over company meeting messages

Microsoft's acid-tongued covert blogger Mini-Microsoft offered up a report card on Thursday's all-company meeting at Seattle's Safeco Field, giving CEO Steve Ballmer   two zeros and accusing business division president Stephen Elop of "sucking the life out of the stadium." While Microsoft employees provided tepid tweets from the company meeting that pulled 20,000 of them into the baseball stadium and jammed AT&T's cellular network, Mini-Microsoft looked for signs that the company was tuned into the job at hand, understood the impact of thousands of layoffs over the past year, and how Microsoft might stem inefficiencies at the company. He must acknowledge it starkly. The evolution of Microsoft Windows Seven things to love, hate about Windows 7 CEO Ballmer was the first to disappoint, according to Mini-Microsoft, who hoped that the company leader would "come out front first, before any other Microsoft leadership, to speak the truth about the last year and where we are now.

We had layoffs. Ballmer got zeros on both counts. We had inefficiencies." Ballmer, however, didn't appear until the end, slapping hands with employees sitting close to the stage and tearing an iPhone out of an employee's hands and pretending to stomp on it. Elop faired even worse, drawing Mini-Microsoft's wrath for crushing the blogger's hope for short, sweet and powerful demos. "Elop. Baby. Steven.

Dynamics. What did I do to you to have that forced down my eyeballs? ... Geez. XRM. Really? Did anyone give you advice that this was a bad idea? If not, you're seriously lacking good reports willing to give you honest feedback." Mini-Microsoft had blogged before the confab on six hopes for the company meeting. If so, keep listening to them.

In the grading system each hope represented a point and when all was said and done the score was 1.75. "Hey, almost one-third realized," wrote Mini-Microsoft. The other hopes included "practical vision," which Mini-Microsoft graded out at .5, giving Craig Mundie, chief researcher and strategy officer, and Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, props for focusing on "practical aspects of product groups, research, and inbetween the technology transferring power of the labs groups."Mini-Microsoft's hope for short, sweet and powerful demos earned a .5. "Robbie Bach [president of the entertainment and devices division] did okay, but I can't say the demos blew me away," wrote Mini-Microsoft. Ballmer's zeros came from not coming out first to "set the context for the meeting in light of a pretty awful FY09 Q3 and Q4," and one for not giving a serious wrap up. The grade for Mini-Microsoft's hope on getting a good peek at new stuff came up .75. He called looks at Bing, Zune HD and new Laptop Hunter commercials "conservative." And the hope to see a new review system got a zero. And Mini-Microsoft had kind words for Dr. Qi Lu, formerly of Yahoo and now running Microsoft's online services group. "[He] might be my favorite techie right now. On the up side, Mini-Microsoft said he was surprised to hear COO Kevin Turner, who opened the meeting, admit that the company had over hired.

I was impressed with what he's brought together for Bing and what's coming and how he has focused the team and adopted some of the new technology that Satya [Nadella, senior vice president of research and development] was showing. Ever?" Who the hell thought we'd be feeling so good about our search decision engine?

Get the most for your gear-buying dollar

It's as inevitable as the turkey hangover the day after Thanksgiving: There's a hot new camera, game system or MP3 player everyone wants for the holidays, and that demand causes the price to stay high. There are a few things you can do to keep your tech budget in check-and nearly all of them involve the Internet. What's a budget-minded technophile to do?

As part of our annual Gear Guide, we've rounded up some tips to help you get the most out of your gift-buying dollar this holiday season. There are two handy categories of bargain-hunting sites you can follow: deal aggregators, which collect sales notices across the Web, and deal-a-day sites, which offer one item on sale daily, so long as supplies last. Do your research Use your RSS reader to keep on top of retailers' best tech deals. Some of the most useful deal aggregators are: Ben's Bargains : This site aggregates the Web's best tech deals and allows you to track specific products and vendors. Newegg.com : This vendor has a reliably varied inventory and dramatic price reductions.

Deal News : In addition to a dedicated tech deals section, the site also offers coupons for specific tech vendors, including the Apple store. Spoofee : This site isn't purely tech-oriented, but it does a great job compiling deals from Amazon, Buy.com, GoGamer and other tech retailers. And the deal-a-day sites you'll want to follow include: Apple DOD : This site offers lots of accessories and peripherals-in other words, great stocking stuffers. Stootsi : Its Apple category offers a wide variety of new and refurbished goods. Cowboom : It offers one tech-related deal per day, but don't rule out the rest of the site's inventory. New Day New Deal : There are a lot of entertainment-related deals here, from Wii accessories to multimedia speaker systems.

Deadly Deal : The site also offers giveaways; recently, visitors scored free iPod earphones. Finally, check out the inventory on refurbishment sites. Throw yourself on the mercy of strangers Alternately, you can try your luck with Craigslist or eBay. Start with Apple-under the Special Deals section of its online store, you'll find links to their refurbished Macs and iPods, as well as clearance items. Depending on how much demand there is for the product you want, you may be able to get your gadget for a substantial discount off the retail price. First, there's no guarantee that you'll be getting what's listed, and it can be a struggle to get your money back.

There are some things to keep in mind when dealing with individual sellers. Second, it's up to you to do due diligence. If you do go the Craigslist or eBay route, don't forget to ask about packaging and documentation. If the gadget you want comes with software (for example, a digital camera or a scanner), make sure the seller provides proof that they've got installation disks and a software license number so you've got a usable gadget. Think outside the (shrinkwrapped) box Finally, keep an eye out for gadgets that pack a bang for the buck. It's a definite best-in-class bargain.

For example, the Flip Mino HD videocamera (Get best current price) is a lightweight, versatile and comparatively inexpensive portable videocamera. Visit your favorite tech products-review site and see which items are lauded by the reviewers as a great deal. While a photo printer may seem like the perfect gift for the grandparents, that $89 bargain you snapped up at Best Buy will end up costing a lot more in the long run owing to ink cartridges. Finally, don't buy a gadget just for the sake of giving someone a toy to unwrap under the tree. In the case of photo-mad relatives, it might be more economical to give the gift of a Snapfish account. [Lisa Schmeiser is a freelancer writer who also runs the Dollars & Sense personal finance blog at SFGate.com.]

Online libel case stirs up free speech debate

An Illinois politician's attempt to unmask the identity of an e-mail poster who allegedly made disparaging remarks about her teenage son in an online forum is stirring a debate about free speech rights on the Internet. The paper had run a story describing a bitterly contested local election that Stone was running in. The case involves Lisa Stone, Trustee of the Village of Buffalo Grove, Il. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune , someone anonymously posted "deeply disturbing" comments about Stone's 15-year old son earlier this year in a local newspaper.

In response to that story an individual using the name Hipcheck15 posted comments that were critical of Stone. Those comments, in turn, evoked allegedly defamatory statements directed against Stone's son by Hipcheck15, the Tribune story said. The comments apparently prompted Stone's son to go online and post comments in defense of his mother. The paper did not say what exactly Hipcheck15 wrote, but it quoted Stone as describing the comments as being "vile" and "shocking." Stone did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request from Computerworld seeking comment for this story. In response to an order from the court, the paper turned in the IP address for Hipcheck15. Stone then obtained a similar order from the circuit court judge that asked Hipcheck15's Internet service provider, or ISP, to reveal the true identity of the person to whom the IP address was assigned to.

As part of an effort to file a defamation lawsuit against Hipcheck15, Stone approached the Cook County Circuit Court and asked it to order the newspaper to turn in the true identity of the poster, the Tribune said. According to the Tribune, the ISP late turned in the identity of Hipcheck15 to the court last month. Stone apparently has insisted that all she is trying to do is protect her son and other children from being similarly attacked online. A hearing is now scheduled for November 7 to decide whether the judge should provide Stone with Hipcheck15's true identity. She is hoping the case will serve as a deterrent against similar attacks.

Individuals who libel or defame others online, anonymously or otherwise, are just as exposed to lawsuits as they are in the physical world and cannot expect First Amendment rights to automatically protect them. "Saying you're a lousy professor is one thing. Eugene Volokh, professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles' School of Law, said the case serves as another reminder that online anonymity does not automatically provide immunity against libel charges. But saying you molest 13-year olds is completely different," he said. Judges in other cases have shown a willingness to do just that if, in their opinion, the complaints had merit. Though one might use a pseudonym to conceal their true identity a court can force an ISP to unmask them in such cases, Volokh said. In a similar case earlier this year, a Texas circuit court judge ordered an online news aggregation site to turn over identifying information on 178 people who had anonymously posted allegedly defamatory comments about two individuals involved in a sexual assault case.

William Pieratt Demond, a partner at Connor & Demond PLLC, a law firm in Austin that is representing the couple, today said that the online site has since turned over information that has so far led to three people being identified as tied to the comments. The two individuals, who were acquitted of all charges, had claimed they had been subjected to intense and inarguably defamatory comments in the online forum. Libel lawsuits have been filed against all three, Demond told Computerworld today. Judges have to make the decision whether an online comment reflects just a personal opinion which is protected, or if it crosses the line and becomes defamatory. "Courts have said that because revealing a speaker's identity could end up deterring people from speaking up, we are going to require some showing whether there is a cause," he said. In the Stone case, it is hard to know how much merit her complaint has, Volokh said. Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said the case was troubling. "We think anonymous speech on the Internet is really critical and needs to be protected," Yohnka said.

Yohnka warned against a growing tendency by corporations and individuals to use defamation claims as a way to get the courts to force ISPs to unmask anonymous online commentators. "Saying something is defamatory shouldn't be the trigger" for deciding when someone should be unmasked he said. It has traditionally been one way in which people have chosen to express themselves on political and social issues, he said. Corporations and public figures in particular need to show they have a prima facie case before they are allowed to seek the identity of an anonymous poster, Yohnka said.

Life after military service: Disabled vets chase federal IT contracts

Jerry Demony, a retired Army colonel, suffered back and other injuries during his tour of duty that left him more than 50% disabled. Veterans agency looks beyond EMC for multi-million storage deal Demony and cofounder Phillip Oakley, a 22-year Army veteran who retired as a Major, formed i3 Federal in 2005 to take advantage of a government set-aside program aimed at Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned businesses, dubbed SDVOs in federal contracting parlance. Today, Demony is a partner in i3 Federal, a Fairfax Station, Va., reseller that's winning millions of dollars in federal IT contracts each year because of this disability. Oakley is awaiting his own disability rating due to multiple injuries including skin cancer that he experienced during his military career. "We do $8 million to $10 million in sales a year," from an SDVO contract open to all federal agencies, Oakley says. "Other companies come to us to do deals because of our SDVO status.

Although federal agencies aren't meeting this 3% goal, they're still sending billions of dollars a year to firms with the SDVO designation. It definitely makes a difference for us." Since 2004, U.S. government agencies have had a statutory goal of sending 3% of their prime and subcontracts to SDVOs such as i3 Federal. The owners of SDVO firms have a range of disabilities, from having shrapnel in a leg to suffering from Agent Orange poisoning to having multiple artificial limbs. The federal SDVO program is big business. To qualify for SDVO set-aside contracts, firms must meet federal requirements as a small business and must be owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans. In 2008, federal agencies awarded 215,806 contracts to SDVOs (across all industries, not just IT) for a total of $6.4 billion.

Not surprisingly, the two agencies that send the most business to SDVOs are the Department of Defense, which awarded $3.3 billion in SDVO set-aside contracts in 2008, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which awarded $1.6 billion. The SDVO sales figure represents 1.5% of all federal contracting dollars, according to the Small Business Administration. "This program was amplified by the Bush Administration, which wanted to send more contracting dollars to small businesses whose owners were injured during active duty," explains Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president of FedSources a market research firm. The Defence Department's SDVO awards represent 1% of its overall contracting dollars, while VA's awards represent nearly 12%. "The VA has been quite successful at this program," Bjorklund says. "The VA has had an executive agent role to ensure that programs were in place to connect disabled veteran-owned businesses with government agencies." Many agencies purchase IT gear from SDVOs through a government-wide contract called Solutions for Enterprisewide Procurement (SEWP). SEWP has six SDVO firms, including i3 Federal, that are listed as prime contractors. "I3 Federal's sales are almost completely off the SEWP contract," Oakley says. To support SEWP, i3 Federal has grown to include 15 employees scattered around the country. I3 Federal resells equipment from Cisco, IBM, HP and others on the SEWP contract. More than 60% of i3 Federal's SEWP sales are to the VA. "The best thing that VA does is emphasize that 10% of all their printer purchases must go through the SEWP contract to SDVO firms," Oakley says. "The VA gets it.

The VA almost exclusively contracts with veteran-owned businesses." Another SVDO firm that's benefiting from set-aside contracts is Alvarez & Associates, a Washington, D.C., IT firm that was founded by Everett Alvarez Jr., a Naval aviator who spent more than eight years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. What's the VA for but to support veterans? Alvarez & Associates is another prime contractor on SEWP. The VA recently awarded a $10 million storage deal off the SEWP contract to Alvarez & Associates, which in turn subcontracted the work to Vion and Hitachi Data Systems. Bob Bruce, vice president of federal sales with Vion, says winning the storage contract through Alvarez & Associates represents the company's first big deal with the VA. "It's a significant win for Vion," Bruce says. "We're Vietnam veteran owned. Vion is a systems integrator based in Washington, D.C., that is owned by Marine Corps veterans but doesn't qualify for SVDO status. The owners work in the company every day, and they are very proud of their service in the Marine Corps." The SVDO program is not without controversy.

Bjorklund points out that SDVO firms are entitled to bid on these federal set-aside contracts, even if most of the work passes through to the subcontractors. "For the large firms, it can be almost like a dating game where they are looking for an SDVO prime to pass their business through," Bjorklund says. "Sometimes, far more than 50% of the work is done by the subcontractors, and that is hurting the prime." Some observers complain about awards such as the VA's storage contract with Alvarez & Associates because the majority of the business goes to subcontractors such as Vion and Hitachi rather than to the winning SVDO firm. "When the big providers use SDVOs just to win the contract and do all the work themselves, the program works in some capacity but not the way it was intended to," Oakley admits.