Former MS Employees Explore OSS

Roberto Andressi writes "A few former Microsoft employees have launched a Web site that evaluates open-source projects. The site is intended as a way for first-time OSS users to 'get their feet wet' before diving into the large community of open source projects out there. The site, Ohloh, will provide background information on a prospective project. The folks behind the site even plan to include a lexicon of terms for very new users. " From the article: "'We collect from the infrastructure the open-source community uses to develop the software,' Ohloh co-founder and CEO Scott Collison told CNET News.com. 'It also serves as an open-source directory. You can find open-source projects and compare them, and gradually find one that's right for you.' The site could appeal to developers who are frustrated by the number of open-source projects that lack clear explanations. Ohloh also seeks to help developers make a build vs. buy decision by offering code analysis, said Collison, who along with co-founder Jason Allen, previously worked at Microsoft."

Comments

Bill got em...

[XenoPhage]

Thanks slashdot.. Here I try to visit the site and see what it's all about, but it's obvious that Microsoft saw this news before me and has already squashed the site.. What a way to start a Monday...

Re:Bill got em...

[pedalman]

Either that, or these are the former MS troops who tried running Hotmail on NT.

Some smart MS employees...

[Anonymous Coward]

are ralising a great business opportunity!
1. Work at MS, get to know where those smart coders steal their code from.
2.Build an index of info. already available from Sourceforge.
3. Get advertised on Slashdot.
4. In every resulting page, display dozens of shoddy MS products in Google ads.
5. Profit!

At this rate, wonder if any chairs are still left over...

Term that they should have added

[Rik Sweeney]

Slashdotted

This is what happens to a site when Slashdot links to it on their front page.

The irony of course is that no one would be able to read it when a Slashdotting occurs...

Not to be outdone...

[AngryDill]

Larry Ellison has announced a new web site where he evaluates the benefits of PostgresQL and DB2! ;)

-a.d.-

Open Theft

[Doomedsnowball]

In related news, the start of a new project at Microsoft to figure out exactly how much code needs to be changed to patent OSS ideas and inline them into Vista. The lawyers say 80% of the comments need to be altered. The QA testers say 51% more bugs need to be added. And the developers say that you just need to change all the names of the variables, make pointers to everything you can, and cut-n-paste inline assembler code before the linker kicks in.

Newbies guide to opensource

[Kuku_monroe]

Gettin' your feet wet' before diving into the large community of open source. Step 1: All Open source projects have weird name like "Ohloh"

Redemption

[Rob T Firefly]

"Scott Collison!" I exclaimed. "But.. you left Microsoft!"

"Collison?" He appeared pensive. "Yes... That's what they used to call me. Scott Collison. That was my name." He smiled.

"Scott..?" I asked, confused.

"I am Collison the White," he proclaimed, with a twinkle in his eye. "And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."

Re:Why link to ZDNET Asia?

[houghi]

I was overwelmded by the 500 Internal Server Error

it's a typo

[DrSkwid]

Oh-noh!!

ho | Ho

[Tx]

Reverse the name to get the true meaning:

Ohloh -> ho | Ho

Ex MS employees "helping" FOSS with a project called "ho | HO" (backwards)? Do I need to polish my tinfoil hat, or is that suspicious?