Microsoft Deploys Linux, Open Software in Test Lab

securitas writes "Microsoft has deployed Linux and other open-source software in test labs used by business customers to experiment with Microsoft's products. The products include Linux, Apache, MySQL and Open LDAP directory-access software on Intel-based computers, according to Martin Taylor, who is in charge of Microsoft's Linux competitive strategy. He said the goal was to learn 'what can you do and how can you do it' using open-source software in a competitive analysis. This step comes after Microsoft's recent admission that Linux is Microsoft's biggest threat after economic conditions. Mirrors at CMPnetAsia and InternetWeek." It'd be cool to see some patches come from Redmond, but that's probably wishful thinking.

Comments

Re:Patches from Redmond

[pair-a-noyd]

I would NOT trust the patches. I would NOT used them. I would NOT under *any* circumstances allow M$ code on any of MY boxes...

Sorry Bill, no sale...

oh, I'm sorry.

[twitter]

Well, from the 4 links you provided 3 are talking about patent infrigement, not code theft. And if it were somebody else sued for patent infingement I think you will be the first one to post something anti patent.

So they only stole source code once that I can point to outside BSD and all the rest were patent violations. That must make them nice people.

Second, can you give some evidence to your claim that Microsoft uses XP (Extreme Programming) as it's software development process? I somehow doubt it.

Besides Microsoft's continued flaws, nah. It's just something that comes out of their mouths and is reflected in their, "product".

My bad, I mispoke, Microsoft cares, would never steal anything and is constantly striving to imporve my productivity so that all my dreams can come true. Thanks for pointing it out to me. I love Big Brother. Eat me, Astroturfer.

I'm smoking SCO extortion letters.

[twitter]

MS they would even be interested in what problems *YOU* have with Windows.

I have no problems with Windows because I don't use it. It never worked well, it's security record is the pits, the EULA is unacceptable and don't want to support such an immoral company in any way. So Windows is no trouble.

I do, however, have problems with Microsoft's lame insistance on crap like Winmodems, their hatred of all reasonable hardware or software standards and promotion of Paladium. Microsoft fucks with everyone in their strange attempt to have everyone run their inferior software so that they can take as much money as possible from them. I have trouble with M$ only sites and don't go there. I have trouble with M$ only hardware and don't use it. Mostly, I hate their pressuring my ISP to accept dhcp and block ports at the cable modem so that I can neither send nor recieve email execpt through my ISP's servers, nor can I serve anthing and if I could it would be a pain in my ass to keep up with my IP address because the 1:1 cable system has been fucked around to work like a dial up modem. All of these things are designed not to offer service but to suppress superior service and are things I am unable to avoid.

The Hotmail case, if you bothered to read the link I provided, was not about user complaints. Microsoft switched out FreeBSD for Windoze server and had the team write a report about it. The report was a scathing praise of free software that recognized that technically inferior software had to be used for marketing purposes. It demonstrates that Microsoft already knows what's wrong with their software, does not care and will never fix it. This is just another example of Microsoft doing eveerything for marketing purposes. Things like that and backing the vultures at SCO tend to piss people off.

Tell it to Steve Balmer, Astroturfer. I'm interested only in Microsoft leaving me alone. The only way those morons are going to stop, I'm afraid, is when their bad business practices put them out of business. It's happening faster than you think, Mr.Deranged Unix Nut.

Re:I'm smoking SCO extortion letters.

[DunbarTheInept]

Linux "zealots" didn't start this fight. Microsoft did. They are the ones that want to see Linux destroyed. It is only natural that Linux advocates would start to realize that Microsoft must fall for their system to live, because Microsoft has elimination of linux as their goal. I'd absolutely love to live in a world where you use whatever the fuck you want on your own platform, and it doesn't matter. *Microsoft* won't let me live in that world. When *THEY* stop trying to destroy interoperability, then I'll stop hating them. And yes, they have plenty of dedicated, smart, good people in the ranks - but they aren't the ones making the decisions that matter here.