Computer experts are being urged to ditch Bill Gates and his Microsoft empire to save cash and help stem huge council tax rises.

Green Party group leader Keith Taylor said Brighton and Hove City Council could avoid hefty tax rises if it swapped to free "open source" software, available through the internet.

Firms and computer users throughout the city could also save cash by downloading cheap and legal software rather than relying on the Bill Gates-owned multinational for programmes.

The city council has refused to swap over to the free, open source technology fearing glitches and system failures could end up costing more in the long run.

Mr Taylor said: "We are facing a £14 million Government cut-back next year and looking at an enormous rise in council tax so we should be leaving no stone unturned in examining ways we can save money.

"The council is tied into Microsoft at present. But other large organisations are now demonstrating there are alternatives. If we can make open source work here it will save us millions of pounds over the years.

"If this means council tax payers in Brighton no longer filling the pockets of the world's richest man, then so be it."

Council leader Ken Bodfish said the Labour-led authority had acted on advice from officers that it was safer and more economical to stick with products sold by mainstream suppliers.

He said: "We employ technical experts to advise us so it would be foolish of me to express a view.

"The council needs a system that is compatible with other users in the city and we also have to be confident the system is efficient and will work and be careful of solutions that in the long run cost more money. But we are always trying to reduce expenditure and will look seriously at any sensible suggestions."

Open source programmes, including word processing and spreadsheet software, are available without charge from dedicated web sites and do not involve expensive licensing contracts.

A programme which can create, change and save Microsoft Word files has been developed so firms can spend as little as £60 setting up an office full of computers that are compatible with customers and suppliers.

Russell Nelson, the vice-president of the New York-based Open Source Initiative, told The Argus: "The problem is organisations are scared of taking the leap and embracing this new advance. But substantially more people are using this software. The open source alternatives are spreading slowly by word of mouth because people are impressed by the products.

"There are fewer bugs with this software and it's more reliable. It has been used in the back office and at servers for quite some time but now desktop users are catching on to the benefits."

The University of Sussex has already started using the new technology. Caroline House, its computer services manager, said: "We use open source software throughout the university for our back-office systems. For example, all our web pages and our mail server use it.

"We still use proprietary software, such as Microsoft Word. But we will be keeping an eye on more competitive options."

Brighton-based computer programmer Max Edwards said industry experts were excited about the latest developments in open source software. It was becoming very well respected. Open source software is shared by programmers who are free to make improvements and changes and even sell on their own versions.

Different licences are used by different suppliers. Most insist any bugs found and suggestions for improvements are passed back to the original programmer so they can be incorporated into an updated version.

The code used to instruct the computer how to work, making programmes like Microsoft Word as well as games possible, is freely available and easy to understand.

Programmers are willing to work on new systems in the hope large companies will hire them for support and to tailor any software to their needs. Many programmers involved in open source software believe there is an ethical dimension to their efforts.

They argue they are contributing to society by allowing their work to be used for free and challenging unpopular multinationals.

Microsoft claims independent studies funded by the firm have shown Windows is cheaper to run than open source rivals for most businesses.

Friday February 20, 2004