Though Miguel talked about the history of the software he works on, the main point I took from his talk was the position of the Federal Government on software usage. Miguel explained that the Federal Government takes a 'balanced approach' to the software it uses. Which I understand as "we use what is the most practical for us." (I feel skeptical of that because of [http://cdneducation.blogspot.com/2007/10/so-is-microsoft-dictating-what-is-used.html education scandlesscandals]). Though I feel skeptical of the government about all things most of the time, METRo is a proof that there is a push towards the open source model in our Canadian Politics.