Microsoft Calls for Truce With GPL and Linux?

An anonymous reader writes to mention an eWeek article discussing Microsoft's efforts to reach out to the open source community. The company is hoping to find a common ground with softare released under the GPL, so that OSS and Microsoft products can interoperate. From the article: "The goal, from both sides, is to meet customer needs, he said, adding, 'This is just the more mature view of the way the world is evolving, and we want to make sure that if customers are choosing Linux or other open-source-based products that we have ways of interoperating and working effectively with that.'" A related article mentions Windows server Expert Jeremy Moskowitzs' call for a truce between the Linux and Windows communities.

Comments

It's about time...

[PFI_Optix]

This has been painfully obvious to us non-fanboys for a long time. Neither camp has made any significant effort in making their systems truly interoperable, and blame goes both ways. Microsoft has a clear profit motive here (by making *nix and MS products work together better, it makes their systems viable in more environments), but the fact that they're reaching out should be incentive enough for the OSS community to respond in kind. This sort of cooperation is never a bad thing.

Re:Follow my analogy

[OzPeter]

So what is the difference between seeing a bunch of OSS programmers at a normal beach versus a nude beach? A square foot or two of material? I can assure you that I have seen bodies of all shapes and sizes on both normal and nude beaches and that being "covered up" doesn't hide you from the way people are.

It would appear that you are in denial of the fact that people other than hollywood stereotypes actually go to the beach .. *any* beach. I would suggest that perhaps you get out of your (stereotypical) basement and see what the world is really like.

Of course I can throw in the US centric sterotypical comments about this country being obsessed with not being seen naked, yet while all the time having a media that exploits a nude fantasy.

Re:More like "embrace, extend, extinguish".

[Odin_Tiger]

If I release code under the GPL and you want to use it in a closed-source project, come to me and see if you can get access to it under an alternate license. Just be aware that if you intend to make money off using my code, there's a good chance that your alternative licensing will include sending some of your profits in my direction.

Yes, perfect. Exactly what I think MS is after in this article. Unfortunately, it is often the case that people won't (or possibly can't) do that, especially with respects to large community projects, which just happen to be the most likely suspects that MS wants to be able to work with.

Why should the GPL respect the wishes of someone who wants to...

Because the GPL does not cover distribution etc. If you don't want people to use your code in commercial software, say so in your own distribution aspect of the license of the code, instead of the lazy route of not listing restrictions on distribution and just relying on the GPL to force people to GPL their code as well. The GPL doesn't just hurt proprietary software companies, it hurts -everybody- who wants to use GPL code in non-GPL software. That's why you sometimes get warnings about installing certain software on some BSD's if there's a chance that it's not BSD licensed. -That- is why not respecting the wishes of non-GPL coders is a bad thing...it hurts everybody who doesn't want to or, more importantly, -can't- use the GPL in their code, whether because of employer / educational institution policies / contracts or other parts of the code under other licenses or whatever. The only safe way to work with GPL is if every single aspect of your software is either a) already GPL, or b) written by you, with the intent of releasing as GPL.