Should governmnet software be Open Source?

[Derek J. Balling]

I don't know, but I'd have to agree with Intuit on that one. The gov't has 
no business entering into the commerce space. What hardware/OS platforms 
does the "official US tax software" run on? If its only on Windows, can 
Apple and Be,Inc. sue the government for exclusionary tactics?

Bad idea all around. Free market rules.

At 03:28 PM 3/8/00 -0500, Rick B. Dietz wrote:
>Is anyone familiar with the IRS's effort to create free (as in beer) tax
>software?  As I recall, Congress shut this project down at the behest of
>Intuit, et al.  The argument was the same as that often made against the
>USPS, government intrusion in the market space of what would otherwise be
>a profitable private enterprise.  This position would seem to be very much
>a hinderence to the adoption/creation of free (as in freedom) software as
>well by the gov't.
>
>Rick Dietz