Jonathan Krim of the Washington Post reports on efforts by Microsoft to dissuade open source software use in government agencies and in defense projects . . .

“Microsoft Corp. is aggressively lobbying the Pentagon to squelch its growing use of freely distributed computer software and switch to proprietary systems such as those sold by the software giant, according to officials familiar with the campaign . . . ”

” . . . A May 10 report prepared for the Defense Department concluded that open source often results in more secure, less expensive applications and that, if anything, its use should be expanded . . . “

” . . . report identified 249 uses of open-source systems and tools, including running a Web portal for the Defense Intelligence Agency, running network security for the Army command in Europe and support for numerous Air Force Computer Network Defense tools . . . “

” . . . Among the most high-profile efforts is research funded by the National Security Agency to develop a more secure version of the open-source Linux operating system, which competes with Microsoft's Windows . . . “

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