Microsoft Sponsors Apache Software Foundation

gbjbaanb writes "Ars Technica reports that Microsoft is to sponsor the Apache Foundation to the tune of $100k. From the article: 'I asked him if this could possibly be the beginning of a broader initiative by Microsoft to increase Apache compatibility with .NET web development technologies, but he says it's still too early to guess Microsoft's future plans for Apache participation. ... He doesn't anticipate a confrontational response from the developers working on individual Apache projects ... The response of the broader open source software community, however, is harder to predict.' (In related news, MS also intends to participate in the RubySpec project.)"

Comments

Where is the ship?

[ancientt]

Okay, I have to admit this confuses me. There are a lot of possibilities where MS could make investments or try to push markets, but this seems business backwards. I can't tell if it is a magic trick or the real thing.

And for the subject reference:

A magician works on a cruise ship and entertains the audience with his show. The only problem is that the captainâ(TM)s parrot has figured out all his tricks and tells them during the show. âoeAaarrr, itâ(TM)s in his sleeve, itâ(TM)s in his sleeve, Aaarrrâ âoeAaarrr, itâ(TM)s under his hat, itâ(TM)s under his hat, Aaarrrâ

One night the parrot starts again to tell trick. The magician pulls out a gun and shoots at the parrot. The parrot dodged the bullet; it hit a propane tank and blew the ship into a million pieces. The only two survivors are the magician and the parrot floating on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean.

The parrot looks around, looks at the magician and say: âoeAaarrr, ok, you got me. Where is the ship?â