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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.'"
Should read "Microsoft Keeps Eye on Open-Source PR"
Microsoft views open source through the lens of "coopetition from commercial and open-source strategies at the same time," Hilf said.
Did he mean to say "through the lens of a high-powered rifle's croshairs"?
never a truer word spoken... Microsoft loves to coopt software... hates giving back though... just absolutely loves the BSD license
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
A large blue screen saying there was a critical error at 0x000000 is a 'A challenge over perception.' as well? /had to be done.
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer."
Hero of Allacrost, a FOSS RPG for *NIX/*BSD/OS X/Win
Umm... I dont thin the EU wanted the source at all, they wanted proper specs and documentation for the SMB protocol (?). MS was trying to avoid giving anyone anything useful by licensing the Windows source for lots of cash and a very restrictive lisence that would not actually let FOSS use any knowledge gained from the source. On top of that, there is still no good specs/docs for SMB, which was what was asked for in the beginning.
No, I think it means pretending to cooperate and then forcing them out of business - a euphemism for 'embrace and extend'.
Perception of Microsoft: "There are people who don't like capitalism, and people who don't like PCs. But there's no one who likes the PC who doesn't like Microsoft." - Bill Gates
Developers: We can use your help.
I've heard that David and Goliath metaphor before... ...except that usually Micro$oft is the Goliath.
I can't belive that they DARE to try to use David vs Goliath as a metaphor in THEIR FAVOR!
Poor little beaten-down monopoly....
Ever wonder why they have a problem with their public perception?
"On the desktop, we have a strategic win today (monopoly). We must keep the desktop." - Presentation, Microsoft Executive Staff Retreat, May 10, 1990
"We are engaged in a FUD campaign to let the press know about some of the bugs. We'll provide info a few bugs at a time to stretch it out." - Brad Silverberg, July 22, 1991
"Objectives: FUD DR DOS with every editorial contact made." - MS-DOS 6 PR Plan, November 1992
"look what znix is doing! cut those fuckers off." - Brad Silverberg, May 19, 1992
"Five minutes after any agreement is signed with Microsoft, they'll be thinking of how to violate the agreement. They're predators. They crush their competition. They crush new ideas. They stifle innovation. That's what they do." - Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, Quoted by Matthew Szulik at a U.S. Senate Hearing, Dec 12, 2001
Could be their corporate conduct.
Developers: We can use your help.
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.
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