Is the CodePlex Foundation Truly Independent Now?

Glyn Moody writes "Microsoft created its CodePlex, 'an online collaborative software development portal,' four years ago, as the latest in a string of attempts to play nicely with open source. Well, maybe not: Microsoft saw the open source software projects it hosted there as reflecting 'the open community-building spirit of Microsoft's Shared Source Initiative.' In September last year, it tried again, launching the CodePlex Foundation, 'a forum in which open source communities and the software development community can come together with the shared goal of increasing participation in open source community projects,' and not to be confused with CodePlex.com, 'a Microsoft owned and staffed forge that encourages the development of open source software based on Microsoft technology.' The only problem is that all the funding for the CodePlex Foundation still comes from Microsoft. But the new Technical Director of the CodePlex Foundation, Stephen Walli, thinks it can become truly independent of Microsoft, open to all companies to create open source software for any platform using only OSI-approved licenses. Will the CodePlex Foundation take its place alongside existing foundations addressing this sector, like Apache and Eclipse, but complementary to them? Or is it forever doomed to be ignored by the open source world because of its origins?"

Comments

Who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ignoring open source never doomed anyone.

Codeplex continues to provide useful source to people developing on Microsoft platforms.

Only the religious zealots care.

Re:Let me get this straight

[binarylarry]

I'm biased as fuck.

But I don't think that takes away from the fact that .NET adoption is 1/10 that of Java or less nor from the fact that .NET OSS adoption is probably less than 1/10th the size of Java's.

Nor the fact that it's in Microsoft's interest to do so, nor the fact that this is probably an attempt to change that.

Nors for everybody!