Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Why Microsoft Cozied up to Open Source at OSCON

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the guarded-optimism dept.

This year at OSCON it seemed that you couldn't throw a stone without hitting someone from Microsoft (and in fact, I'm sure several people did). They were working very hard to make themselves known, and working desperately to change public opinion of Microsoft's involvement in the open source community. Linux.com's Nathan Willis took a look at what they were preaching, with a hefty dose of skepticism, and tries to postulate what the "angle" is. Of course, the powers that be at Microsoft may have finally seen the writing on the wall and felt the pressure from Google enough to alter their strategy a bit. For now I guess we'll have to wait with guarded optimism (or laughable contempt, depending on how old/jaded you are).

15 of 325 comments (clear)

  1. I for one welcome ... by hachete · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... nah. No I don't.

    --
    Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious
  2. This should be obvious... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Since Steve Ballmer isn't a programmer, there's no geek pride to be stepped on here. Just watch out for the chairs. :P

    1. Re:This should be obvious... by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'd say the joke served its purpose here. Got an MS fanboy to blow his cover and raised his blood pressure to boot.

      If you are a fangirl instead, it still applies. If you are a fanvampire, sorry for the blood pressure joke.

      --
      Infuriate left and right
    2. Re:This should be obvious... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I'm pretty sure Steve Ballmer 'chair' jokes are posted on /. more frequently than 'nigger' jokes on 4chan.

      And both instances are pretty sad...

  3. Re:All together now: by corsec67 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Extinguish

    --
    If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
  4. Re:enemies close by sm62704 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wow, you're right! But they have a few freaks. And five fans.

    --
    mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  5. Re:MS cannot be trusted by Shade+of+Pyrrhus · · Score: 3, Funny

    So...Balmer's plan is to give his employees cancer?

  6. MS can be trusted by smittyoneeach · · Score: 2, Funny

    MS can be trusted to do whatever they need to do to make a buck.
    So I'm expecting Office .Net binaries that happen to run OK on Mono any time soon.

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  7. Re:All together now: by alx5000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Take two... Extinguish!

    --
    My 0.02 cents
  8. lolcrosoft by sohp · · Score: 4, Funny

    Im in ur OSCONs, stealin ur develpurs! DEVELPURS! DEVELPURS!

  9. Re:Cashing the GNU by steelfood · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm sorry, but Foobar is not open source.

    --
    "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
  10. Re:yeah right... by alexborges · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ah... and by the way: charging them head on IS WORKING very well. Thank you very much.

    --
    NO SIG
  11. Re:MS cannot be trusted by xanadu-xtroot.com · · Score: 2, Funny

    2001 called, it wants its state of affairs back.

    by RightSaidFred99

    I really don't think anything more needs to be said...

    --
    I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
    I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
  12. Re:All together now: by freeasinrealale · · Score: 2, Funny

    M$ has lotsa loot. The lifeblood of open source is the development community. Paying them to NOT develop for open source might be a start... Just a thought....

    --
    A man spends the first half of his life accumulating stuff, the second trying to get rid of it all.
  13. Those who really have to worry by sentientbrendan · · Score: 2, Funny

    are those who work at slashdot.

    Where would slashdot be without Microsoft to bash? They might have to do some actual journalism.