Microsoft plans to launch a Web site to share the activities of its internal Linux laboratories, an effort to sample feedback from customers who combine Microsoft and open-source software. Customers will be able to submit requests to Microsoft employees. For example, a person could ask how to best test the use of Linux desktops working with Microsoft’s directory software.
Didn’t Microsoft try to break up Java by creating its own Java platform that was incompatible with Sun’s VM? Isn’t Microsoft going to do the same with Linux?
Microsoft doesn’t have to even try. The Linux community does a good enough job of this by itself. No help needed from Microsoft.
Microsoft doesn’t have to even try. The Linux community does a good enough job of this by itself. No help needed from Microsoft.
That is oh-so-true; on one hand, you have programmers that could knuckle down and work on a project, putting their individual empire building to one side in favour of building some better OR they could argue, moan and complain, then form a fork of that said project, take 1/2 the development team with him, create another re-iteration, pushing both projects behind the eighth ball.
Microsoft, if they wanted, could speed up the process by stiring up anamosity in large scale projects or pushing projects off course, but I think going by the shear immaturity of some programmers – which seems to go hand in hand with intelligence; as intelligences increases, maturity and pragmaticism go in the opposit direction.
A stable driver API in the linux kernel being the best example, a solution was put forward by Caldera plus a number of other players in the form of the Unified Driver Kit (UDK); which was not only to provide a stable driver API, but one that covered accross various linux distributions and UNIX variants so the net result was a grand unified driver API so that hardware companies could create for that one API and supply a whole market with support thus lowering costs.
As for the said article and Microsofts reason for a ‘linux lab’, its the same reason why companies have labs, to analyse the competition, work out the advances that their competition has in their products over their own, and addressing the deficiencies in their own products.
Microsoft know that those customers who insist on using Linux as desktops or servers know its a lost cause trying to convince them to use their offers; they also know that the vast majority of those Linux users/customers are also ex-UNIX users, so they’ve actually lost nothing by facilitating better integration between Windows and Linux, infact, one might argue that it could improve the chances for Microsoft in the case of the linux users migrating to Windows in the neither or long term.
You have also got to consider whether those who use Linux are using a commercial branded version of Linux (Novell or Red Hat); again, if they’re using a community supported distribution, what it simply tells Microsoft is this; if they wanted commercial linux support then they would have settled for a commercial offering, but the fact that they’re using a community distro means that they were never going to spend money on software meaning no money lost for Microsoft and no money gained for Microsofts competitors, and more importantly, if they were going to spend money Microsoft never lost a customer in the first place.
on one hand, you have programmers that could knuckle down and work on a project, putting their individual empire building to one side in favour of building some better OR they could argue, moan and complain, then form a fork of that said project, take 1/2 the development team with him, create another re-iteration, pushing both projects behind the eighth ball
Wishful thinking IMHO. This opinion based on history of MS and their execs saying and actions.
Microsoft, if they wanted, could speed up the process by stiring up anamosity in large scale projects or pushing projects off course, but I think going by the shear immaturity of some programmers – which seems to go hand in hand with intelligence; as intelligences increases, maturity and pragmaticism go in the opposit direction
Like throwing chairs or dancing like a monkey ?
MS already did that with OpenGL, XFree86, are trying with ODF, …
they also know that the vast majority of those Linux users/customers are also ex-UNIX users, so they’ve actually lost nothing by facilitating better integration between Windows and Linux, infact, one might argue that it could improve the chances for Microsoft in the case of the linux users migrating to Windows in the neither or long term
Excuse me ? If they want to help, everything is there since a long time, every door was open to MS to help Wine, Samba. MS never delivered anything to them significant, the recent incident on Samba is yet another evidence.
the fact that they’re using a community distro means that they were never going to spend money on software meaning no money lost for Microsoft and no money gained for Microsofts competitors
BS !! I made my own distro, and I am ready to shell bucks for games or good apps. I buy hardware, I now search for hardware makers that support Linux. They get my money. I would buy software too, but the problem is that when we needed the software and asked, software vendors said ‘no’, and then some FOSS software came to fill the gap and was good enough or better. There are very few areas now in which I need software. I asked for Pinnacle Studio for Linux for example.
But it’s true that I will not spend any money on MS software (I have everything I need already), but perhaps some of my users would buy Office for Linux for example.
Except Linux use continues to spread worldwide despite the doubters. You make it sound as if there’s not dissention in a place like, oh say, Microsoft.
http://osnews.com/story.php?news_id=14133
Of course it’s easier to repress it inside a corporation.
Are you suggesting that Microsoft will create their own Linux compatible OS..?
Perhaps that’s why Vista is late 🙂
I think Divide,Conquer and Chaos appeals better.
Isn’t Microsoft going to do the same with Linux?
And try to explain how that is supposed to happen?
The Microsoft Linux Lab people,
http://port25.technet.com/
get to tinker with Linux and fun open source stuff.
… and get paid for it,
….by Microsoft.
They are brilliant,
even more brilliant than the money losing Xbox division.
Microsoft management people are the suckers.
I predict that the MS Linux Lab people will later leave and go to work against Microsoft.
For example, the dude who masterminded Gentoo Linux, worked for Mr. Softy about six months, and then ejected? Robbins?
Hilf and his team say the right things about improving interoperabilty with & learning about OS technologies etc but some how I don’t see this ‘harmony speak’ connecting with MS top management. Seems bipolar to me and a case of keeping your enemy close.
They can create a Linux distro just like anyone else can. They can call it Windows Linux, Crashable Linux, Poorly Coded Linux, or what ever they want to call it.
One thing for certain is they cant touch the community. They can put what ever code they want into it and redistribute it, but remember, they have to offer the source code.
In all actuality, I think it would be good if MS embraced Open Source and Linux. It would improve their OS 200 fold and give the Linux community better driver support and DirectX 10 for Games
I can’t fathom why people talk about MS Linux even mockingly. Its incongruous, MS & open source are opposite models. Might as well talk about alternate realities.
Even if the web site is a dog-and-pony-show created largely for external consumption, I think it would be interesting to see what Microsoft parts of the iopen source world are important enough to be looking at.
More power to them. Maybe MS as a whole will learn a few things because of their efforts.
>Except Linux use continues to spread worldwide
>despite the doubters. You make it sound as if
>there’s not dissention in a place like, oh say,
>Microsoft.
There is dissention at Microsoft. No doubt about that. The issues are worse for Linux. You have a million different people that all code differently and have no mission statement or no uniity beyond them other than not be like Microsoft.
I mean just look at the Linux UI war, or driver wars, etc..