It has been three and a half years since Software Tech News addressed the topic of Open Source Software (OSS). In that time, as Kane McLean writes in his article, “Military Open Source Community Growing”, its use in the Department of Defense (DoD) has grown significantly, widely adopted and implemented in a variety of systems.
While the rate of change in technology grows exponentially, DoD needs to continue to develop new capabilities ever faster. Gone forever are the days of a single contractor developing a system from scratch, uniquely matched to the required application. The need for commonality across platforms, interoperability between networks and shared functionality across organizations drive reusing what exists rather than reinventing the same basic constructs. Matthew Kennedy discusses the factors one should consider in his article, “Evaluating Open Source Software”.
Articles In This Issue
Implementing Open Standards in Open Source
Industry standards morph into functional computer software. I use the word “morph” on purpose to avoid any term that can be found in US copyright or patent law. Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animation to turn one image into another through...Military Open Source Community Growing
Open source software (OSS) usage is growing across the Department of Defense (DoD), not surprisingly so is the community of open source developers and integrators. In industry and the technology community at large many consider open source to be somewhat of a social movement centered...Tech Views
It has been three and a half years since Software Tech News addressed the topic of Open Source Software (OSS). In that time, as Kane McLean writes in his article, “Military Open Source Community Growing”, its use in the Department of Defense (DoD) has grown...Additional OSS Resources
Mil-OSS connects and empowers an active community of civilian and military open source software and hardware developers across the United States: http://www.mil-oss.org/ MIL-OSS Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/mil-oss?hl=en A coalition organized to serve as a centralized advocate, to encourage broader U.S. Federal Government support of and participation...Running Open Technology Development Projects
How to get started” is a question continually asked. This article lays out the basic framework for running an open technology development (OTD) military focused project. The first section describes how to establish an OTD program once a project proposal has been accepted. The next...Evaluating Open Source Software
There is an overwhelming amount of open source software (OSS) available today that can be used throughout the software development life cycle. Nowadays, it is generally not a matter of whether one should use OSS, but rather, where one should use it. If one were...Software is a Renewable Military Resource
“The United States cannot retreat behind a Maginot Line of firewalls or it will risk being overrun. Cyberwarfare is like maneuver warfare, in that speed and agility matter most.” – William J. Lynn III. [Lynn2010] Software is the fabric that enables planning, weapons and logistics...Open Source Software Is Commercial
Nearly all publicly-available open source software (OSS) is commercial software. Unfortunately, many government officials and contractors fail to understand this. This misunderstanding can result in higher costs, longer delivery times, and reduced quality for government systems. There are also legal risks: government officials and contractors...Publicly Releasing Open Source Software Developed for the U.S. Government
This article summarizes when the U.S. federal government or its contractors may publicly release, as open source software (OSS), software developed with government funds. This article is intended for non-lawyers, to help them understand the basic rules they must follow. Before going further, a few...
