Microsoft Launches OSS Site, Submits License For Approval 261
prostoalex writes "Microsoft has launched a site dedicated to collaboration between Microsoft and open source community. The site helps developers, IT administrators, and IT buyers find out what Microsoft's product offerings are, and read articles about open source such as 'Open Source Provider Sees Sales Doubling After Moving Solutions to the Windows Platform.'" Relatedly, CNet has the news that the company has submitted its shared-sources license to the OSI for approval.
For some reason looking at their OSS site (Score:5, Interesting)
Does this mean we actually crossed over the line as legitimate to them, or is this bait for something else?
Explanation please (Score:3, Interesting)
3(B) If you bring a patent claim against any contributor over patents that you claim are infringed by the software, your patent license from such contributor to the software ends automatically.
I don't understand this - can someone explain? If you bring a patent claim against a contributor then how does that contributor have a "patent license" that then ends?
Their long term strategy... (Score:4, Interesting)
That's right - all your codebase belong to them.
Step one in an anti-GPL 3 move? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Talent Poaching. (Score:3, Interesting)
MS Open source website? ooookkk (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Step one in an anti-GPL 3 move? (Score:3, Interesting)
This would do nothing to stop the gplv3 from being adopted by Samba.
I dont think microsoft has any intention of using any version of the gpl. They are trying to get their shared source licenses approved as official open source licenses.
I think the point of this is that open source application development doesn't harm microsoft if they can have it done on their platform and on their terms. I think it's an acknowledgement that open source application adoption for some areas and for some users is inevitable and they are trying to minimize the impact that will have on their monopolies by making the choice to use those applications not necessitate changing platforms.
It is probably also an attempt to take open source developer mindshare away from the things they feel are the real threats in the open source community (the gpl in general; linux and the gnu tools in specific)
Re:Interesting site (Score:3, Interesting)
But what good does "Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0" do you when you need proprietary software (namely, Sharepoint itself) to actually do anything with it?
Re:Talent Poaching. (Score:3, Interesting)