Microsoft Opens Code Just Slightly More

ctar writes "This story on Bloomberg.com details Microsoft's new program to open the source to parts of Windows in order to compete with Linux, especially in the government sector. Microsoft's spokesman is making these announcements directly: They say governments involved will be invited to Redmond to meet w/ security engineers, and view testing procedures. Countries will also be able to incorporate their own encryption schemes 'based on Microsoft's software'."

Comments

One Question

[The_Shadows]

Why does the government need the source? I mean seriously, it's not like knowing how MS wrote their version of solitaire is going to help much.....

Sheesh. :)

Re:One Question

[Anonymous Coward]

I know your comment was meant to be funny, but as a government employee I have to say that I'd like to see the source of sol.exe (Solitare). I think it's coded in a way that you CANNOT win twice in a row. And it seems to degrade as you play it more without stopping.

I just want to know if this was on purpose or if the Windows may have started to not only develop intelligence but decide to gang up with my boss against me.

And during those visits to Redmond...

[djupedal]

...anyone drinking the water that is placed on the tables in the conference rooms should know that it will take 9 to 12 months for the effects of the spiking to wear off :)

By that time, contracts will have been signed and monies moved about according to MS's will.

Snazzy

[houseofmore]

"Countries will also be able to incorporate their own encryption schemes 'based on Microsoft's software'."

I'm sure governments around the world will breath a sigh of relief once their networks have been secured by MS Wallet(tm).

Re:Microsoft is missing an entire dimension...

[MalleusEBHC]

M$ seems to not understand that viewing the source is only one third of the Open Source equation. The other half is being able to modify the code, and distribute those modifications.

Judging by your math, I'm going to say you are related to Yogi Berra somehow. ;)

(For the humor impaired, yes I realized what he intended to say.)

Reminds me of a joke

[stox]

We used to have at Bell Labs in the late 1980's. If we ever wanted to put one of our competitors out of business, we would send them a copy of the 5ESS source code. They would go bankrupt trying to analyze it.

RE: Your .sig

[Zordak]

OT, but your .sig made me think of something that occurred to me recently. It was stupid of Darth Sidious to clone an obviously incompetent adult to make Storm Troopers and them arm them with blasters they were ill-equipped to handle. As the parent of a 2 year old, I posit that a massive army of toddlers armed with Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Pancake Syrup and Magic Markers would be a force that would rival Nature herself in pure destructive power. It would have taken this terrible, unholy army approximately ten minutes to dismantle the entire fleet of ships that Storm Troopers were trying to blast apart in AoTC. Most of the ships, operating under crippled, gummed-up guidance systems that have been reprogrammed to point to the nearest black hole, with controls that stick in all the wrong places, and terminals impossible to read for all of the random black markings, would simply crash into each other, with the captains of said ships welcoming the sweet deliverance of death. The rest would get hopelessly lost in the depths of space, and by the time anyone found them, the crews would be incurably mad.

In case you are wondering, yes, having a two year old is occasionally associated with sleep deprivation. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Microsoft bashing.

Don't Blame Solitaire!

[Puu]

And it seems to degrade as you play it more without stopping.

Why, it's not just Solitaire. The entire Windows is coded that way.