OStatic

If you like to follow U.S. politics but have trouble keeping up with all the legislation that the government is working on at any given time, then govpulse is an open source project you'll want to know about. It's a finalist in the Apps for America 2 contest and is a real boon for American citizens who want to know what's happening inside the federal office of our nation.

Since 1935, the Federal Register has been the main repository of information for newly proposed laws and regulations, public governmental meeting notifications, final rulings, Presidential documents and more. It's updated every business day and contains over one million pages of information about governmental proceedings, but there's never been an easy way to search its data -- until now.

Recently, we covered the Open Source for America initiative, which is backed by many heavy-hitting companies and individuals. It will focus on encouraging the use of open source software at the U.S. Federal level, and educating decision makers about open source. Also recently, Kristin did an interesting and far-ranging interview with Elizabeth Ziph, CEO and co-founder of The Linux Box. It's a ten-year old Ann Arbor-based software development consultancy that customizes open source projects for clients across a variety of sectors.

Today, The Linux Box has announced that it is joining the Open Source for America cause. This will no doubt ratchet up the already formidable amount of Linux-focused representation that Open Source for America has.

We've written on numerous occasions about open source adoption in government and education. The ways that open source solutions make sense in (and even philosophically complement) these areas are many, and often make any obstacles involved seem less critical. But for reasons that are frequently unrelated to the utility or appropriateness of open source software, adoption in the public sector has been slow.

It is on the increase, however. The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, New York, recently ran a piece detailing the reasons why the public sector has been hesitant about -- but not entirely resistant to -- adopting open source software.

Though the use of open source software in federal health care programs is being considered far more seriously than it has been in the past, ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn reminds us that landing a government contract requires more than the sympathetic ears of legislators and administrators.

So far, Blankenhorn explains, Obama has committed to creating interoperability between health records kept by the military and Veterans Administration, but not to a completely open (in terms of code, or standards) health information technology platform. The Obama Administration seems willing to investigate open source solutions, but government contracting procedures could be a major roadblock to adopting an open platform. The open alternatives could be out-lawyered, out-lobbied, and minimized by an army of salesmen.

Early Saturday morning, U.S. President Barack Obama named Aneesh Chopra, Virginia's Secretary of Technology, the country's new Chief Technology Officer. While some in the tech industry were more than a little disappointed that the appointee wasn't one of their own, others are optimistic about what Chopra can do for technology in government (especially where health care is concerned). Tim O'Reilly goes into particularly fine detail about what this appointment means for open source.

Whether you think that open source is gaining traction in the U.S. government or losing its foothold depends on which Web site post you read first today. ZDnet's Dana Blankenhorn makes a great case for why the recently formalized arrangement between the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) and the Department of Defense is a huge deal for the advancement of open source at the government level. However, Tod Newcombe, editor of GoV-log: Editor's Video Blog, says government IT executives' enthusiasm over open source is waning.

Who's right?