Strange bedfellows: Microsoft and Open Source

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Strange bedfellows: Microsoft and Open Source

It is baffling to see Microsoft sponsoring an Open Source Census

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

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BANGALORE, INDIA: What is common between Microsoft and open source platform? Everyone knows that one is at loggerheads with the other. But now the software giant has become a sponsor of the Open Source Census!

The Census, started in April by OpenLogic with help from IDC and other sponsors, relies on anonymous scans of computers to count open source installations with software called OSS Discovery.

Till now, 228,117 open source installations have been found from all company sizes and industries, with the Firefox web browser at the top of the list of most popular open source software.

Companies and individuals who take part in the Open Source Census can access detailed reports on their own open source use and comparisons with similar companies.

"Microsoft actively participates in open source through Microsoft engineers and product teams, with industry partners and with open-source software projects to develop interoperable solutions that meet customer needs," Sam Ramji, senior director, platform strategy at Microsoft, said in a statement.

Though there is confusion over Microsoft's move, it is certain that the software giant will not open source its software in the near future, because only last year Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called the open source model "inconsistent with shareholder value".

Some attribute Microsoft's new-found bonhomie with the open source to its desire to participate in different projects so as to gain intelligence about the open source world the company has to compete with.

©CyberMedia News

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spartan2276 said on 6/20/2008 6:27:34 PM:
@Yugal, rightly so? No no no, the only reason why MS is trying to do this is so that they can spy on the FOSS community and further their agenda to destroy it. We must not and I repeat MUST NOT let MS do anything of the sort. For years we have played the compromised game so it is time to say no more, they want interoperability they can open source Windows then we will talk. Both Bill and Steve completely hate FOSS.

to spartan2276

Yugal Joshi said on 6/18/2008 10:30:08 AM:
Microsoft appears to be confident and rightly so that its products would far outnumber the noise making OSS products. I believe Msoft would gain a lot from this interaction in terms of analyzing the trends of OSS adoption in the user community.

to Yugal Joshi

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