Microsoft Keeps Eye on Open-Source Prize

Rob writes to tell us that at the recent Open Source Business Conference in San Francisco Microsoft's director of platform technology strategy, Bill Hilf, outlined why Microsoft is staying involved with open source. From the article: "Challenges of working [coopetively] in the open-source space include the balance between competing and cooperating with a rival, he said. Perception also is a 'big' challenge for the software giant. 'In many regards, the Microsoft open-source story lends itself to a great metaphor of David and Goliath,' he said. 'That is a challenge over perception.'"

Comments

Enemies

[RootsLINUX]

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer."

Re:Coopetition

[Kijori]

No, I think it means pretending to cooperate and then forcing them out of business - a euphemism for 'embrace and extend'.

Is this a case of david defeating the goliath

[ravee]

Ultimately, Microsoft is coming round to the fact that it cannot write away the open source movement. There is a very popular saying : If a group of weak sticks are bound together, the combined strength can be even more than a single stout stick.

GNU/Linux and Open Source softwares are like the multiple weak sticks which have come together to become very strong. And microsoft is realising that it is not going to be a cake walk any longer.

The end users are the one who are going to benefit from the whole thing.