Filed under: Open Source
Yes, it seems as though Microsoft has indeed submitted its open software licenses to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) for official approval. Jon Rosenberg reports on the company’s Port 25 blog – a communication effort attached to Microsoft’s Open Source Software Lab – that “as Microsoft’s engagement with open source grows, we have to move from being trailblazers to being road-builders.” Interestingly, this road-building stance seems to play at odds with the company’s penchant for pointing fingers at those it feels have violated its patents – which, by the way, as Stephen Shankland commented, is an accusation Microsoft attorney Brad Smith and CEO Steve Ballmer made against both Linux and Opensource.org just this past May. Fortune Magazine also released an extensive article on the subject of Microsoft and software patents. (I need an aspirin…)
As Director of Source Programs at Microsoft, Rosenberg’s article announcing Microsoft’s ‘make nice’ effort with OSI does a good job of promoting the company’s efforts to contribute to the open license repository – specifically noting Microsoft’s efforts with Windows Installer XML (released on SourceForge.net) and its work with Codeplex, a highly lauded open source community project that gives some indication that, despite previous and sometimes hostile objections to the open source movement, Microsoft is taking a serious stab at open community software development. But one must remember that there is a big difference between open source in its purest sense and what Microsoft calls its Shared Source Initiative (SSI). Often, people who initially hear of SSI licensing see it as Microsoft’s realization that it can’t fight open source any longer – which is really not the case. Stephen Walli’s take on this concept pretty much sums it up:
“Most people imagine Shared Source as an avenue to open sourcing Microsoft’s key product assets and are disappointed when they see restrictive licenses and difficult eligibility requirements. It’s easy to assume that clearly Microsoft doesn’t “get it” with open source, or more deliberately is generating confusion in the marketplace.”
And Walli should know. As a former business development manager in the Windows Platform team at Microsoft, Walli was in the thick of it – working, as he puts it, “in the area between community development, standards, and intellectual property concerns.” Still, Microsoft contends that it remains firmly on the path of community-based software development. The following video provides at least a little perspective on this whole schizophrenic mess. It shows a presentation at the 2007 Open Source Convention (OSCON) by Bill Hilf, chief of Microsoft’s Open Source Strategy Department. Listen for his version of the “three Cs” and his personal take on software patents – specifically his quasi-apology for the above-referenced patent ordeal during the post-presentation Q&A:
Download Bill Hilf, Chief of Microsoft’s Open Source Strategy Department talks Open Source at OSCON 2007.
And so we have it. Microsoft may be heading down the open source path, but I cannot foresee a time when it releases the full source code for its more “citizen-centric” applications (MS Office, SQL Server, etc.). Though, there are times when the company is pretty darned altruistic, and we will continue to see the Codeplex project thrive. Heck, Microsoft has even issued forth an Open Source domain on its web site, which shows that they are indeed keenly focused on the topic. But alas, despite it all, I just can’t shake the feeling that Microsoft will never fully embrace the open source mantra.
Tags: Microsoft, open source, codeplex, Bill Hilf, Open Source Initiative, OSCON
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So basically, Microsft now has shared-source’ which is open-source on THEIR terms. How kind!
Good articles – you are right to say “watch this space” on the issue of Microsoft handling of it’s software dealing.
I hear reports that Micro$oft is starting to experiment with their own branded personal computers in India. I wonder if they see their future role as a hardware company, especially after considerable success with the production and marketing of the Xbox? Perhaps software will play a different role in the Microsoft business of the future – or should that be Micro-hard?
Jason, thanks for the chiming in! I absolutely agree with you. Change is in the cards for Microsoft. Didn’t know about the branded personal computers in India. Will definitely read up on that. Talk with you down the line! – kms