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Open Source Guy Takes the Hardest Job At Microsoft
jbrodkin writes "Gianugo Rabellino, founder of the Italian Linux Society and a key member of the Apache Software Foundation, traded his Linux and Mac PCs in for a Windows 7 laptop and took on a newly created job at Microsoft designed to encourage collaboration between Redmond and open source communities. 'Developers nowadays are mostly to be found in the open source world,' the new Microsoft executive says. 'We need to go where they are.' With Rabellino's help, Microsoft is expanding its successful partnership with PHP developers , but Steve Ballmer and crew are a long way from completely erasing their poor reputation in Linux and open source circles."
It's a trap!
Flying monkeys!
My book: Friendly F#, fun with game development and XNA; my game: Galaxy Wars by VSTeam; my gamedev language: Casanova.
I for one welcome our new frenemy with aspirations of overlord-hood.
"Ahh! I see you're in that indeterminate Schrodinger state where - oh, uh
cause it wasn't about a HUGE FAT PAYCHECK now was it....
Random php user group in random country lauds some particular act of microsoft, and this ends up being 'microsoft's successful partnership with PHP developers' ?
.net., .whatever, silverlight et al ?
what about asp, asp.net,
and really, what 'partnership' anyway ?
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Successful partnership between Microsoft and PHP developers. What could possibly go wrong?
Mostly harmless.
It's not the hardest job in MS. It's a PR stunt. Just being hired is already a win for MS.
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
He's a terrorist and we need to assassinate him. /sarcasm
13 years later, Microsoft realizes that PHP is so much better than .NET.
Congrats.
>but Steve Ballmer and crew are a long way from completely erasing their poor reputation in Linux and open source circles."
That's like saying Columbus is a long way from completely erasing his poor reputation in the flat earth community.
If I remember correctly there was some guy name Bill Milf who had a similar position. Did that ever amount to anything?
.
Does anyone really think Microsoft wants to partner with the Open Source people?
Microsoft is out to destroy the Open Source community. Why else would Microsoft prohibit Open Source apps from the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace?
I lost all faith in MS as a company, swore I would never use their products again. Have not used them in 16 years.
I still don't trust them, and I don't trust open source projects that get into bed with microsoft.
I suspect this is a PR stunt more than anything. Even if MS were serious about it, it wouldn't work. Combining a for-profit company and the OSS philosophy of selfless idealism (which the OSS community often embraces in its most extreme and uncompromising form, no less) almost always results in failure. Just look at Canonical. They tried to do it, only to end up under fire for even the mildest moves towards making money. Combining "I want to give everything away for free, including all our IP" with "I want to make money" is just a very tough proposition.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Steve Ballmer is the same type of creep as George W. Bush or David Cameron. Instead of Open Source think Compassionate Conservatism or Big Society. It's all the same thing and just a way to market useful idiots as being in the club and get them to work for free. If it doesn't make them and their pals a profit (or reduce a loss) they'll hang you out to dry the second the going gets difficult.
How about instead of selling out to these toffs people learn management, marketing, and finance themselves so they can provide a better alternative? Microsoft, the Republicans, and the Tories will never change. They just want to be top dog and don't care how they do it. Anyone who things they have changed is wasting their time. It's the 1930's all over again.
We will when MS does. When they stop campaigning against open products, when they stop their FUD when they stop their attempts to throw patent roadblocks in front of everything.
When, in fact, they start playing nicely with US.
He better fucking not. It's one of the last web scripting languages that I actually enjoy writing.
Isn't it time to get rid of the Borg Microsoft Icon? How about a flying chair? Just wondering...
I mean, I don't know this guy personally, so it's not an attack on him, but MS has hired various "open source" people in the past, and what do we get?
MS pays Nokia to drop KDE and MeeGo. MS pays Novell to develop a C# and .Net stuff (which prevents the antitrust commission calling them a monopoly), and when Novell goes bust, MS buys their patents.
I don't see any indication that this hire is any good news for us.
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
Would the Open Source Communities agree to be directed by the director paid by Microsoft? Shouldn't the job title be something along the lines of manager/director of relationship/liaison with open source communities? Or Microsoft thinks it can just move in and claim ownership by fiat? What happened to embrace and extend before extinguish?
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Just guess how long he'll be able to sustain the pressure and self-conflicting issue there
No one wants to take a drink from it, no matter how thoroughly they claim to have cleaned it.
Are we going to see a sudden outpouring of love for the GPL/LGPL? Or are we talking 'open' as in something Microsoft can scoop up and build into their proprietary product suites?
I think it will be closer to option B.
Have gnu, will travel.
I'm reminded of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XEujPG7Zjw
First they Laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then you win.
I think we won. :)
It still applies.
Microsoft has been changing a lot in the recent years and they're doing lots of interesting stuff.
Sure, like banning GPL from WP7, great way to gain trust i gotta say.
In order for this to happen, "...Steve Ballmer and crew are a long way from completely erasing their poor reputation in Linux and open source circles." Steve and crew would have to be in the same universe with the open source community--- not going to happen. His philosophy (or what passes for one) and that of the community are completely, COMPLETELY, antithetical to each other. Don't know if there is a 'law', but a compromise between assholes and good people can only result in the good people becoming less good...
Microsoft won't really change until the BOD inserts a new CEO.
Reputation and memory of the current occupant is distinctly distasteful.
I'm not sure how Microsoft would say that developers are mostly in the open source world...
I've worked with many and mostly, though they use open source... Their often not giving back, or not getting the value out of fixing or improving it, just within the company with no kick back.
I've also worked with many who do contribute to open-source.... they tend to be the better ones, often self-taught.
I'm not sure if it the teaching and improving ones self bit that makes them generally better and so brings them to open source. But often that's a bit of a mix for doing your own thing (authority wise) and also being able to keep up and adapt to the fast pace of change in the software industry.
The bad 'closed source' ones, are often jobs worth, write buggy crap (you wouldn't want anyone to see it that's for sure), and 'yes men' who often find all manner of excuses to keep the crap flowing out of their minds and into the code or other people's faces... I suppose that's one way to keep your job and suck up to the boss, whilst being able to blame issues on other people or develop a skill and excuses and manipulation beyond the reasonable.
I think a better, more qualified way of putting it could be,
Most of the good developers work in open-source or in an open-source way... not only are they quick to adapt to things, good at self-management and dealing with 'customers' and faults... but their work is often publicly available and easy to look at, with temporal data. (including support, quality, configuration, documentation and people management etc... they do).
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
MicroSoft generously supplies a meeting room. Some of their people attend, but dont give presentations. Job recruiters come too. There are 10x job openings per person looking.
An endless list of no-no's for development. And possibly money.
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Anyone remember when Daniel Robbins (founder of Gentoo Linux) went to work for MS?
From Wikipedia
Robbins' move to Microsoft, on 13 June 2005, attracted attention[15][16] within the Linux community, which has historically had a combative relationship with Microsoft. He described his role working for Bill Hilf as "...helping Microsoft to understand Open Source and community-based projects..."[17]
However, Robbins resigned less than a year later on 16 January 2006 due to frustrations that he was unable to fully utilize his technical skills in this position. His new job is at ABC Coding Solutions where he will be focused on building in .NET on Windows.[18]
I'm quite certain he browses Slashdot, perhaps he could chime in on what Microsoft has been up to?
According to TFA, 'Rabellino's main focus right now "is to enable PHP to shine on our platforms."'
So, he's there to get people to migrate from LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySql, PHP) systems to WIMP (Windows, IIS, MS-SQL, PHP) systems.
Microsoft knows the FOSS community has some power now. So instead of their old tactics, they're trying to be nice. Diplomatic.
As in, diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggie" whilst you find a rock.
This isn't about Microsoft claiming to have a change of heart or wanting to be friends with anybody, genuine or fake. Microsoft is a large corporation run by business executives. Business types don't see themselves or their actions as moral or immoral. They see them as amoral. Think... like a shark. It doesn't kill because it's evil, it kills because it's a shark and that's what a shark does. If Microsoft execs see a benefit to Microsoft in playing nice with OSS developers then that is what Microsoft will do. The OSS community might as well take advantage of it. As soon as the execs see it the other way however they will return to the same old stuff. No one should ever be fooled into thinking Microsoft is their friend. The legal system decided long ago that the only responsibility that corporate executives have is to their own corporations bottom line regardless of how many other lives their decisions affect. The business world and the minds of the people in it have been completely shaped by this fact and that is the world we live in. Might as well take advantage of it when it does work in your favor because it's going to work the other way another time too.
"traded his Linux and Mac PCs in for a Windows 7 laptop and took on a newly created job at Microsoft designed to encourage collaboration between Redmond and open source communities"
If this is Microsoft's approach to open source and product collaboration in general; to have their main inter-relations representative stop using other products before taking the job; failure is certain. The correct approach would have been to add a Windows 7 laptop to his existing systems to better coordinate collaboration and gain experience actually using them together.
Gianugo should open some eyes to interoperability by using a GPL OS at his workplace. Nothing smells more like a farce than requiring the use of a Windows system, while trumpeting open-source-Friendliness. Someone has to wake them up.
they are pcs
Only if they didn't GPL WP7. If I used WP7 code in a GPL product, I would be VIOLATING the license agreement with MICROSOFT.
however the stupidity is that, php developers pretty much see php as a part of linux, apache by now. EVEN if you push it too hard to argue about oracle and the situation of mysql, and take mysql out of the situation and put any mysql fork or postgressql, php is pretty much served on linux, apache. mod_rewrite, for example, is a daily facet of web development with php. same goes for A LOT of modules that can be compiled with apache. moreover, entirety of the scripts/software which create the php development scene, commercial or noncommercial, run exclusively on lamp. i used the world entirety, because its a situation that far out. actually that is the scene that caused php development to get this big in the first place.
no php developer will ditch lamp and start working on 'wimp'. this at most can cause an infiltration of php developers into windows/iis scene, and cause microsoft to lose on that front too. because due to the synergy in lamp, and the immense software scene of php apps on lamp, php devs will gravitate towards lamp and they will take ex-microsoft clients with them too - 'this requires this, that and that paid infrastructure in ms, but, see, its free on lamp' -> whoops - another client moved to lamp. because, its free into the future - even if you expand, expand expand, cluster, cluster and set up farms.
their effort is pretty much pointless.
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I've heard they're actually useful (or at least not harmful) in the PHP circles -- good for the PHP folks.
they practically dont exist in php circles.
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php developers already make reasonable amounts of money in php development scene. they dont need the restrictions microsoft will bring upon them.
in the last 10 years, small businesses increasingly moved to having their web presences developed and maintained in lamp stacks. (naturally with php, the p at the end of the acronym).
microsoft was trying to push windows, iis, asp or asp.net (later) with mssql to businesses, locking them into their stuff. but, lamp made them undone. this is why they are trying to pull the now huge php development scene into windows.
the php development scene is big, with enterprise-level apps being around for 3-4 years now, leave aside totally dominating small to medium business and personal web development. the names that can be named for apps are endless. their functions also. this is why they are trying to pull all those apps into ms platform, and hence retain control.
its pretty stupid.
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Microsoft is evil, blah blah blah, but if people really want open source alternatives to make any progress with regular people, they need to gain mindshare.
open source alternatives dont need to make progress with regular people in web development scene - that scene is already OWNED by open source. the amount and variety of apps on lamp stack (linux apache mysql php - insert postgres sometimes), and their usage is so huge and so varied. this is what causing microsoft to try to bring all those small and medium businesses (and recently big ones) that got out of their hands in regard to web presence, back to microsoft platforms.
the summary is - all this is pointless. there is no reason for anyone, developers and clients alike, to move to microsoft's platforms. everything is free on lamp stack. even if you go VERY big, and start to cluster servers and then have to employ server farms. all you need to pay for is development of your app. no licenses, no other shit. and, development is quite cheap, because the php dev scene is big.
there is nothing microsoft can offer to open source community in this field.
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you can write good code in any language. php is one of them. dont talk shit without knowing enough about a subject. here is an example from ibm "
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-php-7oohabits/
and that article was from the times in which oop wasnt well developed in php too.
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...another one rides the (sell out) bus.
Will Rebellino turn into another Miguel? The one we have is enough of a PITA already.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Microsoft: Here's how you can work with open source developers:
1. Hire some developers.
2. Let them write some code.
3. Release it under an open source license.
Alternately:
1. Hire some developers
2. Pay them to work on improving an existing open source project.
Or even:
1. Fund a group of independent developer foundation (eg Mozilla) who are working on an open source project.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
WIMP - lmao!
People nested in corporate environments have little info on this, but linux servers pretty much dominate the server scene for shared web hosting, small to medium businesses. In the last 5 years, big corporations have also increasingly moved into linux platform, due to the immediate availability of all kinds of implements, infrastructure, modules, software available in linux for pretty much everything in regard to web hosting and service providing.
....
and this is mainly due to LAMP. linux, apache, mysql, php. these have come a long way, a very very long way, and they are on enterprise level for the last few years, without any denial. and most of this is due to php and mysql being exclusively used on linux and apache to develop websites. you know a lot of these - it started from personal homepage tools, moved to postnuke, phpbb, drupal, then moved on to enterprise level stuff in the last few years. ( see an example http://silverstripe.com/?v=b - there are a lot like this these days )
as a result of this, the server market is HUGE. you can get a quite powerful dedicated server for $60-70 with a lamp stack, and just sit pretty with a no cost web app, modified slightly to your needs by a random php developer you hire from the abundant crowd.
so you can guess what this does to microsoft in regard to servers. they cant sell anything to these people. they even tried having major domain registrar/shared hosting provider godaddy to have its domain parking pages park on iis servers, so that it would skew the net statistics in regard to servers - all domains appearing from iis servers as if separate sites. despite the hosting godaddy gives is predominantly on linux stacks. this was a few years ago. apparently it didnt avail, since i didnt hear it being practiced anymore.
so apparently, they couldnt sell anything on server business, and hence they are trying to - in their rather twisted mindset - to strategically reverse the situation - 'be friendly to php, so that php people will move their apps to microsoft platform' -> ending up all the small, medium businesses and people being obligated to microsoft
as you can understand, this is a doomed move from the start. the market is WAY too big now and way too established in lamp stacks, for microsoft to be able to do anything.
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Hardest job at Microsoft? Pffft...hardly. That prize went to the Windows Vista marketing V.P.
The current Linux Integration Components are still very error-prone, at least on non-supported Linux distributions like Debian/Ubuntu. I make sure to take a snapshot before doing any apt-get upgrades because it's borked my filesystem many times. I think it might have something to do with the Microsoft modules using /dev/hdx instead of /dev/sdx.
... Interior decorator for Steve Ballmer ?
Picking chairs with the right mix of weight, sturdiness and frangibility isn't easy.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
... he can write open source WP7 apps! Oh, wait ...
"Ahh! I see you're in that indeterminate Schrodinger state where - oh, uh
drupal is a coding mess; it was started by hobbyists, developed and added to by hobbyists with hobby purposes. and its now expected to do serious stuff. hence the mess. it wasnt created with development in mind. its an app specific issue.
here's your cms fix :
http://silverstripe.com/?v=b
and there are many like these.
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yeah. fixing of latest php vulnerability didnt take half a day.
please, keep your opinions to yourself if you are uninformed. or, dont talk out of your ass.
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so, documentation for .net exists eh ? wow. that was a surprise. too bad that i didnt say 'no documentation'. i said it gets trampled by php.
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write a small essay on what COMPARED TO in "net is nonexistent, COMPARED TO php in that regard" means.
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What exactly does Microsoft still have to offer? They have a couple of half-baked formats that have already been reverse engineered and... what else?
We have recently observed that Microsoft has explicitly, and in no uncertain terms, banned F/OSS apps from the Microsoft app store. Reasons and justifcations can be made here and there, but in the end, it should not matter whether the source code for a binary is freely available or not. To Microsoft it does matter. And for Microsoft to attempt to connect with or otherwise engage F/OSS developers and projects simply doesn't match with their other behaviors. To put it simply, this is no sign that Microsoft is changing. There is no motivation for them to make any changes, so none can be expected.
And how much are you willing to bet he doesn't have a persistent Knoppix USB stick? I can see MS folks not wanting to see GRUB on their employees' MBRs, but if this guy's been using desktop/laptop Linux for years, there are going to be a few things even Cygwin can't replace.
Who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it... enough said...
Only Nixon can go to China.
-Hack
Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
i raeally like your comments.............. cheap wicked tickets
This is not the first time this position has existed. And it seems to have failed in every other instance.
It would be nice to think that a large and successful (by some measurements) company might cooperate with a large group of people who want to make sure there is some good software in the world. And Microsoft certainly is a large and successful (by some measurements) company. There are many parables about what happens to good hearted creatures who ignore the basic nature of other animals they befriend. A scorpion is still a scorpion, no matter how much it assures you it just wants to get over to the other side of the stream. Embracing is the first step, generally followed by Extending, and inevitably Extinguishing. Maybe if we work with them they won't try to claim we are infringing on their patents. Oh yea they already did that. Maybe if we work with them they won't try to get license fees for pre-existing free software. Oh yea they did that. Maybe if we work with them, they won't publish their product specification, pretending they are open standards. Oh yea they did that. Maybe if we work with them they won't litigate until the their opponents die of natural causes. Oh yea they did that. I don't know, I have run out of ideas.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then they embrace, extend, extinguish you.
I think, therefore you are.
I mean, he traded in his existing hardware and installs for a Win7+iPad+WP7 combination.
As far as cross-platform open source software goes, there are a lot of rough edges in that vicinity.
There's a lot of good open-source software for Windows, but there isn't as much good open-source software that runs well on both Windows and other platforms. If you spend time on a variety of platforms, it becomes tricky to find a comfortable arrangement of software that works well on each. I'm a Linux guy outside work**, but my day job is coding C++ on Windows, and I can speak with experience on the difficulty of finding good client-side software that works in both environments.
It's going to be a bit uncomfortable settling into using Windows as a personal OS if his preferred tools don't run well or at all on it. Discomfort like that leads to bug reports and change.
* Or so I've been told by Ruby developers. I haven't had occasion to write in Ruby myself.
** Three Debian servers (one router and Rosetta Code's two VPS nodes), a Debian desktop (fiancee's), an Ubuntu HTPC(built by fiancee), and fiancee's Ubuntu laptop, my Arch laptop and my Gentoo desktop.
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
Find them. Assimilate them. Resistance is futile.
This guy is a traitor and deserves to the kicked form the FOSS community.
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."
Apparently Balmer has read Sun-Tzu.
-a.d.-
I'm Erwin Schrodinger and I approve of this message, and I do not approve of this message!