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WiX Project Lead Interviewed On CPL Licensing

Posted by simoniker on from the give-it-away-now dept.

comforteagle writes "After Microsoft released WiX (Windows Installer XML) under the CPL I found it odd that so many interviews following were with almost everyone but the project lead. So, for your Friday enjoyment I've posted an interview with Rob Mensching, Wix Project lead, who sheds a little light on what's going on behind the scenes at the Shared Source Initiative from the ground." Mensching explains: "My bosses were not involved in the decision which license should be used for the Windows Installer XML toolset. I worked with members of the Shared Source Initiative team who understand the details of the various licenses available to share source code. They listened to my requirements and found that the CPL seemed most appropriate for the toolset."

4 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Has Microsoft ever done ANYTHING that /. has approved of?

    I sure if MS released the source code to Windows 2003 under the GPL tomorrow /. would find some nefarious plot behind that too.

    -Cecil

  2. XML based MSI by sweet+cunny+muffin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For anyone wondering, this is basically an XML wrapper for the MSI.

    MSI files are binary databases that you had to edit with a nasty tool called oracle. The whole thing was counter intuitive. I could never understand why the MSI wasn't XML based from the start. It was written when MS was XML mad, after all.

    This is brilliant. You can now work with a text source file format for the MSI.

  3. Interesting Interview by Slugworth01 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Based on the interview, Rob seems like a typical developer. Answers to questions are short and sweet, no marketing buzzwords. Does seem to have a lot of M$ religion though.

    This is being handled by M$ in a most interesting way; most likely all be design. This is not (IMHO) a project that escaped from Redmond, they have a plan in mind. The question is - is this a "hip fake" to the OSS community to fool everyone while they finalize their master plan of world domination of all computers everywhere, or is it an example of M$ recognizing the value of OSS and using it when it makes sense?

  4. Re:German by Hank+Powers · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The same applies to Google's Orkut service. Orkut is the Finnish for "orgasms".

    --
    hapo