Latvia to ditch Microsoft for FOSS

French newspaper Le Figaro reports that the Government of Latvia, which has been severely affected by the economic crisis, intends replacing Microsoft’s proprietary software with free and open source software. “This is being done with the sole aim of saving money”, a spokesman explained.

The decision, which was recently signed by the Prime Minister, is intended to find a financial and legal opportunity to switch the State “wholly or partially” to the use of operating systems or software “that are not produced by America’s Microsoft Corporation”.

The Prime Minister’s decision has angered local trade body, the Latvian Information and Communication Technologies Association. “The State should not start fighting Microsoft Corporation or any other company to raise the competitiveness of government administration”, the Association stated in an open letter.

The story was also featured in English by Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald.