the president issued an executive order that requires that data generated by government agencies be made available to the public in open, machine-readable formats when information systems are replaced or modernized. The White House hopes that entrepreneurs will use this data for new applications, just like what happened decades ago when weather data and the Global Positioning System was made accessible to the public. People looking to buy a house, for example, could quickly find crime statistics and energy usage data for the neighborhood, as well as how many organic farms there are within 25 miles, said Steven VanRoekel, the chief information officer for the U.S.