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Microsoft's Open Source Guru Faces Tough Fight

Posted by samzenpus on from the in-hostile-territory dept.

coondoggie writes "Microsoft's Sam Ramji is like a turkey knocking on Thanksgiving's door. Ramji has the unenviable task of stretching his neck out into the open source world as Microsoft's representative. On top of it, his employer has preheated the oven with years of hubris, sleights of hand and broken promises. Ramji's Sisyphean task was evident last week in Portland at the Open Source Conference (OSCon) and will likely be fuel for chatter at next week's LinuxWorld gathering in San Francisco."

6 of 432 comments (clear)

  1. So welcome them in.. by suso · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft is good at winning the game when people are agressive towards them. Which I know its very easy to get hostile towards them. But they are somewhat lost when another group is their host and they are not in control. So we should be welcoming, give them a drink of the kool-aid and treat them like one of the gang. Its going to be hard and we'll have to keep an eye out for deception, but I think we should start playing nicer with them and hope that they do the same. Perhaps Microsoft would see the light and become friendlier to open source and open standards. Unlikely, but so was getting Excel working under Linux through Wine if you asked someone 10 years ago.

    In the end, open source is simply a better model for software development and its a lot more impervious to threats than proprietary software is. Businesses just don't get that. In a business, the software focus is on making money. In open source, the software focus is on quality and empowering the end user. In the end, open source and the user will win. Heck, we're already winning, Microsoft is interested in open source (regardless of the reasons).

    Don't throw arrows. Be diplomatic.

    1. Re:So welcome them in.. by plantman-the-womb-st · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Dear mods, this isn't funny. It's the correct approach. When your enemy agrees to play nice, playing nice back doesn't mean assume they are friendly, it just means play nice.

      --
      Say bad words about my book, in cold oatmeal, or I shall sue!
    2. Re:So welcome them in.. by jcr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is one of those posts where "insightful" and "troll" both apply.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    3. Re:So welcome them in.. by CrazedWalrus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Maybe, but consider, hypothetically of course, the good that could be done if MS' interests could be aligned with ours.

      The secret to good diplomacy is to make others want the same things you want, to show them that your way works for them. You will *never* get someone to stop acting in their own best interests, but you may get them to realize that your way *is* in their best interests.

      Think about it: why do you use FOSS? Because you consider it to be in your best interest. Why do people write software and give it away? Because in some way it's in their best interests.

      Altruism isn't a permanent motivation in the vast majority of cases, and it isn't a business motivation at all. However, if you consider altruism in the equation while determining how to go about achieving your goals, you wind up with something like FOSS -- helping others while you help yourself. There's no reason that your business's primary methodology has to be absolute winner-take-all cutthroat competition.

      That's the thing MS and lots of other companies don't understand. FOSS doesn't mean giving away the store. It just means going about things differently and having a different mindset when you make your plans. It's possible to have a thriving business while peacefully coexisting with your competitors.

      That said, it's incumbent on MS to stop the cutthroat tactics and move into peaceful coexistence mode. It's not us who are trying to use the legal system to wipe them out. We're not Goliath in this story -- we're David with stones and slingshot in hand. If Goliath wants to talk peace, that's fine, but he'd better put down the sword first, AND the dagger he's got hidden in his robe, and start talking sincerely.

  2. Oh Poor Ramji by twmcneil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Poor, poor Ramji. I feel so sorry for him. Getting his head cut off and all. Boo Hoo. TFA is pure Microsoft FUD. Yeah, Microsoft is trying to get along with Open Source. Sure.

    Microsoft wants to kill Open Source and don't ever forget that.

    Hey Ramji, after all your employer has done to promote Open Source like backing SCO and buying off ISO, why don't you just crawl under a rock someplace and quit wasting our air. Just go cash that big check and live in some kind of peace and harmony with your bought-off ass.

    --
    "The ferrets, they're every where I tell you!"
  3. No trust without dropping "patent" claims by Nitewing98 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We should not trust Microsoft, no matter how nice their liaison to the FOSS community, until they drop their claims that Linux distros infringe their patents. Either they need to specify WHICH patents or withdraw the claim entirely.

    If we give in to anything less, we're selling out and lending cred to M$, not to mention allowing them to make money off of FOSS through their "licensing" program.

    --

    Nitewing '98

    Everything works...in theory.