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Microsoft's Olivier Bloch Explains Microsoft Open Source (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the we're-open-source-or-maybe-we're-not-we're-trying-to-figure-it-all-out dept.

Most of us don't think of Microsoft when our thoughts turn to open source. This is probably because the company's main products, Windows and Office, are so far from open that just thinking about them probably violates their user agreement.. But wait! says Olivier Bloch, Senior Technical Evangelist at Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc., we have lots and lots of open source around here. Look at this. And this and this and even this. Lots of open source. Better yet, Olivier works for Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc., not directly for the big bad parent company. Watch the video or read the transcript, and maybe you'll figure out where Microsoft is going with their happy talk about open source. (Alternate Video Link)

6 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. This is old news by celeb8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While MS is the company that everybody who ever liked MacOS or Linux loves to hate, it's been a long time since they've been actively hostile to open source, and they contribute quite a bit to it. Frankly it's been a long time since I've seen a good reason to dislike them any more than any other corporation in an adversarial relationship with a product I like.

  2. We don't think of MS for open source because... by gtall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The reason we don't think of MS when it comes to open source is because it is like being reminded of one's evil mother-in-law. You know she's out there, scheming, plotting. You know will have to deal with her one way or another. You know she'd like to steal your soul and sell it straight to Satan.

  3. Yeah, right by DaveM753 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If it's Microsoft, it's a trap.

    (Apologies to any fish-headed gents in the crowd.)

  4. Re:Next up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    or the borg explaining individuality.

  5. Re:This is it. by jones_supa · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Slashdot articles are now pushing Microsoft products. Everything is backwards from 1997.

    Times have actually changed. Microsoft software was mostly garbage in 1997. That's not true anymore.

  6. Re:This is it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    someone, with their head in the sand for the past 20 years, is drinking too much MS-Koolaid for sure. Generally, Microsoft's open source lab or whatever they are calling it today has been all about training someone to move into marketing and develop material and methods to fight customer migrations to open source. They have a long history of this and because they would be DOA without Windows in the market, they can not afford to let or promote any kind of open source which does not lock vendors into Windows.

    Their history has been so filled with attacks on open source and open standards to believe anything they say. It's all marketing all the time.