FLOSSMetrics, with funding from the European Union, has just published a guide on FLOSS use by small business.

It covers much of the same ground as NOSI's own Primer, but with maybe a few more stats and quotes, including:
- what is free/libre/opens ource software
- ten myths
- selecting software
- adoption strategies
- business models

It comes with an accompanying Catalog which reviews dozens of software packages in the following categories:
- Infrastructural software
- ERP/CRM
- Groupware
- Document management
- Content management systems
- VoIP, conferencing and messaging
- Graphics and CAD
- Desktop
- Engineering and manufacturing
- Vertical business applications
- Elearning applications

Becta, the UK education technology agency, has published a key report on Microsoft Vista and Office 2007. It covers document interoperability and analyses the suitability of both software packages for adoption by schools and colleges.

It recommends that schools and colleges review the findings of the report before considering any large-scale investment or deployment, which are:

The key recommendations from Becta's report are:

• Upgrading existing ICT systems to Microsoft Vista or Office 2007 is not recommended and mixed Windows-based operating environments should be avoided. However, Vista should be considered where new institution-wide ICT provision is being planned.
• No widespread deployment of Office 2007 should take place until schools and colleges are sure that they have in place mechanisms to deal with interoperability and potential digital divide issues set out in the report.
• To ensure widest compatibility of files between different applications, users of Office 2007 should not save in Microsoft's new Office format (OOXML).
• Due to limitations in Microsoft's implementation of the Open Document Format (ODF) international standard, users should in the short term continue to save files in the more widely adopted .doc, .xls and .ppt formats.
• Pupils, teachers and parents should also be made aware of the wide range of free-to-use products currently available and on how to use and access them.
• The ICT industry should be facilitating easier access to 'free-to-use' office productivity software.

For more information go to:
http://news.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=35287&page=1658&catID=1633

For the full report go to:
http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=35275

One of the things that people ask when they come first across Free Software is 'why would anybody want to develop software and then give it away for free?'

There's an editorial in Free Software magazine that tries to explain this conundrum:
"The answer, as amazing as it sounds, is 'convenience'."

It makes life easier and simpler for the developer if other people are using the software that they adapted or developed - it saves them more work in the long run keeping it up-to-date and is therefore 'cheaper'.

As the comments point out, the article is maybe not a piece ready for the general public but it seems to cover all the points.

Anybody know of other resources that cover this point?

A scheme to certify exactly how open certain open source software solutions really are has been launched by the non-profit bodies Open Forum Europe and the Free Software Foundation Europe.

There is an online self-certification process dubbed 'Certified Open' which has been designed to test technical and commercial aspects of software interoperability and awards gold, silver or bronze certificates to applicants.

The website aims to help different types of organisations avoid proprietary software lock-in. The list does not yet include Non-Profit, but will hopefully do so shortly....

An initial free trial period runs to the end of January 2008.