New Zealand Open Source Awards 2010

Thursday, 9 September 2010, 2:42 pm
Press Release: Catalyst IT

New Zealand Open Source Awards 2010 Focus on Innovation as Entry Deadline Approaches

Auckland, Thursday 9th September 2010 – Previous Award-winner Radio New Zealand lists innovation as a leading reason for using free software on its website

Radio New Zealand won the ‘Open Source in Government’ category at the 2008 New Zealand Open Source Awards. The boost in confidence gained from the Award has helped it to progress its use of free and open source software (FLOSS) to continue its innovation. It now uses FLOSS to run its internet and intranet.

“The free and open source software ecosystem allows certain freedoms, so you can change and adapt software to meet specific and changing needs, which I believe is necessary if you want to innovate,” says Richard Hulse, New Media Manager, Radio New Zealand.

Awards judge and President of the New Zealand Open Source Society (NZOSS), Rachel Hamilton-Williams, agrees. “Open source software is competitive on features, performance and price. Having a healthy FLOSS sector reduces barriers to entry for both service providers and customers; it puts more control and options in the hands of the user and provides a fertile ground for innovation.”

Hulse says Radio New Zealand’s 2008 New Zealand Open Source Award “was an acknowledgement that our approach was mainstream; that it is possible to use free software to run a high-profile, high-traffic site, and to do this alongside other organisations with much larger budgets”.

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Nominations for the 2010 New Zealand Open Source Awards close on Wednesday 15th September, and innovation in FLOSS will be lauded at a gala event in October. Don Christie, Director of Catalyst IT, which runs the Awards, says they are “an opportunity to celebrate excellence and innovation in open source software and services”.

To enter the 2010 New Zealand Open Source Awards, visit www.nzosa.org.nz.

About the New Zealand Open Source Awards
The New Zealand Open Source Awards are run by open source IT house Catalyst IT. The New Zealand Open Source Awards 2010 recognise and promote the contributions of New Zealanders to free and open source projects, to free and open source philosophy and the exemplary use of free and open source software by New Zealand organisations. The 2008 New Zealand Open Source Awards featured 32 finalists and 10 category winners. The Awards gala attracted over 200 of New Zealand's leading business people, government representatives, creatives and open source community contributors and advocates.

About free and open source technology
Free and open source technology are two separate but related things. Free software is software that carries no licensing fees or charges for use. Open source software is when the software writers leave the code used to create programmes accessible to others so that the programme can be improved, changed and added to by any programmer. It is changing the way people and organisations collaborate and innovate to achieve common goals. For New Zealand, free and open source technology not only represents an opportunity to contribute and be recognised on the world stage, but also to deliver real competitive advantages to the business sector, show leadership in government and the public sector, and provide more effective tools for organisations public and private as they meet the challenges of the 21st century.

About Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter and broadcasts over three nationwide networks; Radio New Zealand National, Radio New Zealand Concert and the AM network which relays Parliamentary proceedings. Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) is its overseas shortwave service, broadcasting to the South Pacific and beyond, while Radio New Zealand News provides comprehensive, up-to-the-minute news and current affairs information.

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