[ILUG] Government use of OSS

[Gerard Cunningham]

> Anyone got an estimate of how much the government might save
> if it went over to open source software?

On a not quite related topic, does anyone here know anything about the
Garda PULSE system. I'm assuming its not open source, and since
Accenture are the main providors/maintainers I can find from a google
search, I'm guessing it's custom built. The only cost figures I can find
is from a PQ a few years ago giving an annual cost of 12Million. I'm
wondering how comparable this (and other computing needs of the force,
desktops, portables) would be to the French experience.

See article on French Cops and Ubuntu at
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/03/french-police-saves-millions-of-euros-by-adopting-ubuntu.ars

In the interests of full disclosure, I should add I'm a journalist,
looking to compile data for an article on IT costs.