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Microsoft Claims 'We Love Open Source'
jbrodkin writes "Everyone in the Linux world remembers Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's famous comment in 2001 that Linux is a 'cancer' that threatened Microsoft's intellectual property. While Microsoft hasn't formally rescinded its declaration that Linux violates its patents, at least one Microsoft executive admits that the company's earlier battle stance was a mistake. Microsoft wants the world to understand, whatever its issues with Linux, it no longer has any gripe toward open source."
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” -- Gandhi
We've already gone through the first 3 stages over the past 15 years. And just so you're not confused, winning != world domination.
This shouldn't surprise anyone too much. Ten years ago some people really thought that Linux was going to replace Windows on everyone's desktop, open source projects were going to kill Office, etc.
Which never happened.
The reality is that there's room for both open and closed source software in the world.
This is what I want to know: Is Microsoft's new stance a sort of "this is the way the world is going, we'd better at least pretend to get with the program," or is it more like "we need to do a better job with PR of covering up our continuing efforts to break and absorb every platform that isn't ours?"
I see what you did there.
I don't see how would this favor MS. For IBM, it made sense as IBM is a services company and works in their favor.
For Microsoft, their business is in selling software, and everybody else is a competitor. In the case of Open Source, a very annoying competitor they can't get rid of easily.
They can start by ending all the funny business with software patents. That would be a first step, but I doubt very much it'll happen. Much more likely that there's some kind of trap here.
The just have a different definition of what "open source" means than you and I. "Open Source" to Microsoft means that they are free to incorporate other people's work into their software with any reciprocation or release of the modified code. Unfortunately many companies feel this way open source code.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Microsoft is the enemy of open source, pure and simple.
I think that used to be the case, but Microsoft seems to have a more nuanced view now. They recognize that Linux is a strategic threat, but that doesn't mean that any and all open source projects are similarly dangerous to their core interests. They have far more than Linux to contend with these days, and they're finding allies in unlikely places.
That said, Microsoft has flip-flopped so many times on open source it remains to be seen whether they truly understand that they've lost the ideological war over open source (and more importantly, free software).
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
How nice of them. They apologized for calling Linux a cancer.
Still waiting for an apology for the OOXML atrocity. In fact, it's going to take a lot more than a few contributions and nice words to make me put OOXML and its enormously dirty dealings in the past.
The Internet is full. Go away.
1. First they ignore you
2. then they laugh at you,
3. then they fight you,
4. then you quote Gandhi
5. ???
6. Karma!
MS Loves Open Source, which knows its place.
MS Hates that uppity Free Software.
www.eFax.com are spammers
... has really been to "embrace" it. (As usual!)
.NET with MS versions of everything the traditional open source world used to provide.
Think about it like this:
- Ms-PL (and 4 or so other licenses)
- CodePlex
- Free versions of Visual Studio
Now developers can write open source for Windows &
Instead of developing with Java or gcc for other VMs or Linux!
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