Open souce software

==Open Source Trend==
This is the way to go. No doubt. The city impacts this movement in multiple ways. Reforms to increase software innovation and decrease prices can come in different forms.
===Open, standardized file formats===
*Many public agencies only provide files in a Microsoft format. This forces citizens to purchase MS products in order to interact with their own government. The government needs to use file formats that can be incorporated into any software package without legal restrictions. The OpenOffice.org file formats are currently being considered by an International standards committee.
===Open source software===
*Many public institutions, such as schools, effectively provide free and exclusive advertising for Microsoft, even as our government sues Microsoft for monopolistic practices. Teachers need to be aware of other software available to their students and need to make students aware of these free alternatives, rather than telling students that they need to use Microsoft products.
*Public institutions, such as universities, pay fees to Microsoft to provide their students with software, even when free alternatives exist. Such institutions should seek to use free software when possible as a cost saving alternative, and should provide equal or greater exposure to comparable free software.
*Government and public institutions may have the bargaining power to pressure manufacturers to provide alternatives to MS software pre-installed on computers. This course should be pursued when free software is of equal or greater quality than MS software (such as is the case with the Mozilla web-browser).
== Pittsburgh's closed door legacy is a trend we need to reverse. ==
Example: Bettersâ€™ legal salvos could provide a rare look into Pennsylvaniaâ€™s culture of backroom deal-making, and make the process of divvying up the slots winnings a dicey one indeed. Source: Pgh City Paper.
==Links==
* Open document
* Writings on Open Access with science and scholarship.