Enterprise OS: How hard can it be?

Dear Cabinet Office, public sector austerity and economic growth are not mutually exclusive

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:48:26 GMT

How would you describe an organisation that is losing £164 billion every year on £585 billion revenue, and with a net position already £1.2 trillion in debt1? Of course if this was a private company, and putting it as politely...

The government gets really serious about open source

Mark Taylor — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:50:12 GMT

Monday 21st February 2011 saw the first 'Open Source System Integrators Forum' held by the Cabinet Office and I'd like to share a few modest bits of news with you all... Firstly, the occurrence of the event itself is...

Open for business - SMEs take place at public sector table

Mark Taylor — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:46:07 GMT

I attended Francis Maude's SME strategic supplier summit last week. If even half of the promised reforms materialise it will transform the Public Sector landscape, clearing the way for young and dynamic businesses to bring innovative solutions and play their...

Microsoft proposes government licencing of internet access

Mark Taylor — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:14:28 GMT

The recent proposal by Microsoft's Vice President of Trustworthy Computing to introduce Government licencing of Internet access is both hiliarious and terrifying1. Aside from the obvious Orwellian overtones of this sort of control and the bureaucratic horrors that one could...

IT cuts, Open Sauce and harsh reality

Mark Taylor — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:02:09 GMT

Responses to the cold, hard light of reality shining through the windows of UK Local Authorities in this newly dawned era of fiscal austerity have been varied.I expect ICT news like the latest from Essex County Council to be become...

Open Source: It's not just cheap...

Mark Taylor — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:23:49 GMT

I suppose it's inevitable that when you talk about Open Source software to people for the first time the thing they focus on is that it is generally given away for free. "How do you make money if you don't...

Open Source: It's not just cheap...

Mark Taylor — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:23:49 GMT

Public sector ICT cuts - they do not have to hurt

Mark Taylor — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:47:04 GMT

This week's Economist notes that in the current climate of public sector austerity in the UK, there are two strategies under way by the various interest groups.The first is to assess rationally and realistically how to comply with the need...

Time for school IT to teach Open Source

Mark Taylor — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:08:52 GMT

The Royal Society has just warned that Information technology lessons in UK schools are so dull they are putting pupils off the subject, and of course the idea of a career in IT.So no surprises there then. I take no...

Proprietary software vs security

Mark Taylor — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:17:00 GMT

It's been a long time since I've had to install a piece of proprietary software because generally my needs are met entirely by Debian's packages or at very least by tools distributed as source. Recently though I needed to...

TransferSummit: Where invention meets innovation

Mark Taylor — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:00:00 GMT

A recent report shows that UK universities deliver £2.97bn in services to business and industry. That's a big number but many of us will not have been involved with those engagements. Why not? The full answer may be found...

Open Source: The capitalists' choice

Mark Taylor — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:33:00 GMT

I often hear people referring to Open Source and Free Software advocates jokingly, or not so jokingly, as "communists" or "hippies". After all, giving away your "intellectual property" for the greater good may be a nice theory in some...

Cuts, government IT and putting lipstick on a pig

Mark Taylor — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:39:00 GMT

Britain faces an unprecedented age of financial restraint - and with that come huge demands on Government to reduce costs and deliver services for much less. Debate is already turning to not just the level of cuts, but which...

Government IT: Open Data, Open Standards and Open Source

Mark Taylor — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:37:00 GMT

As the UK's new Government settles into power the direction in which it is taking ICT policy is becoming clear, the only question is how the admittedly great ideas will be implemented in practice. Much informed analysis has indentified...

Open Source v Sharepoint: The trouble with bundles

Mark Taylor — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:24:00 GMT

"So if I can summarise this, would I be right in saying that Sharepoint does an awful lot of things adequately whereas your Open Source offerings do fewer things really well?" Thus spake a delegate at a recent 'Sharepoint'...

Becta's Home Access Scheme...not really a scam

Mark Taylor — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:43:00 GMT

I was asked by a colleague in Holland to explain Becta's Home Access scheme and give an update on how it was going. He was concerned that 'it had all gone a bit quiet' and he could not find...

Saving Becta: a great new open source venture

Mark Taylor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:48:00 GMT

This post follows swiftly on from last week's blog in which I touted BECTA's demise. Things in edu-world after this weekend are looking much worse if you believe Ed Balls the Labour Secretary of State for Education and Michael...

Becta and school ICT: end of the line for the gravy train?

Mark Taylor — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:52:00 GMT

Becta and School ICT: end of the line for the gravy train? It's raining and I'm in Coventry. Unsurprisingly the time of year lends itself to epitaphs. Coventry, once a proud industrial city was bombed flat during the Second...

Linux users, the coolest cats in town

Mark Taylor — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:21:00 GMT

Only one topic in town this week and that's bullying … This post however was originally inspired by Glynn Moody's unrelated blog which broadly was a treatise on the simile between organising Open Source folk on any large scale...

Why teachers should boycott ICT (except Linux)

Mark Taylor — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:27:00 GMT

ICT in schools is a good thing... or maybe not if you are a teacher. Like all powerful tools ICT can be used for good or ill. In my opinion the last decade has seen the bad side come...

Microsoft and child protection

Mark Taylor — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:36:00 GMT

At a click of a button on Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 (and only on Microsoft Internet Explorer 8) a secret code is launched which reports an individual to a Government organisation called CEOPS which in turn accesses the Police...

Evolution and Open Source Software (last roar of the dinosaurs)

Mark Taylor — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:30:00 GMT

Symbian, the giant maker of that well known operating system for cell phones is an inspiration. By announcing that it was going to release 'billions of pounds worth of Intellectual Property' as Open Source software it made the BBC...

Linux of the Rings

Mark Taylor — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:09:00 GMT

Last month saw the launch of http://www.data.gov.uk web site not only built on Open Source Technology but designed to give UK-data back to the UK-people. Number one amongst the endorsers was the most celebrated Knight and famous Wizard, Sir...

Linux in the school office

Mark Taylor — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:34:00 GMT

A big MIS-take… MIS stands for Management Information System. A MIS is at the heart of every school office nowadays. In the UK the leading MIS is from Capita-SIMS.net and it has a huge market share. In fact for...