Re: Microsoft takes on ACT

["Marin David Condic" <dont.bother.mcondic.auntie.spam@[acm.org>]

I know they didn't always get full data rights to everything in some of the
contexts in which I dealt with the DoD - but that might depend on what one
means by "full data rights". Usually they got access to source code - even
COTS - if it went into the deliverable end product. They would usually "own"
what we developed for them while not owning, say, the compiler's RTK. But
remember, this was "embedded" work. I'd imagine if you built a system that
ran on top of Unix or Windows, they wouldn't expect to get the source to
those OS's. (Come to think of it, we did support systems like that for them
from time to time & I don't recall that the OS was much of an issue in the
contracts.)

But does DoD want or need the source to Microsoft Word for all the clerks &
secretaries that are typing memos in the Pentagon? Probably not any moreso
than General Motors. There might be advantages to Open Source stuff in this
area (price, portability of the data, etc.) but it isn't obvious that the
advantages make Open Source the hands-down winner.

MDC
--
Marin David Condic
Senior Software Engineer
Pace Micro Technology Americas    www.pacemicro.com
Enabling the digital revolution
e-Mail:    marin.condic@pacemicro.com


"Ted Dennison" <dennison@telepath.com> wrote in message
news:3CEF9F06.2050109@telepath.com...
> Marin David Condic wrote:
>
> > Any user can have the full rights to any software they want. All it
takes is
> > a willingness to write up a cost-plus contract. :-) I don't know if the
DoD
> > gets full data rights - clout or not - for things they buy off the
shelf.
>
>
> No they don't. That's one of the contaversies about their going to COTS
> software. (At least it was 5 years ago when I last went through this).
>
>
>
>