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Yep, that's exactly right, and it just shows how Microsoft doesn't get how open source software processes work and how sad they are about creating soundbites around the whole subject.

In any open source project, those contributing code have to be getting something in return for the code that they're contributing. In the case of the GPL, this might mean that they are guaranteed to get other peoples' code contributions in return on a level playing field, or in the case of a more permissive license, they can at least use it for commercial or proprietary uses.

Who in their right mind is going to contribute to a Microsoft project, for free, where they get nothing in return in terms of being able to use the code commercially, or as part of a proprietary endeavour, and where Microsoft can simply take code contributions, make money off them themselves and not contribute any of their code back to everyone else?

It's a huge waste of time, and one great big yawn. For anyone wanting to create anything of actual use, they'd better not look at any of this code.

Edited 2008-03-04 22:44 UTC

Yep, that's exactly right, and it just shows how Microsoft doesn't get how open source software processes work and how sad they are about creating soundbites around the whole subject. "

It doesn't show anything of the sort. In fact, it shows the exact opposite. Microsoft doesn't intend this code to be open source, so they didn't use an open source license. If they had intended this code to be open source, they would've used MSPL or MSRL, as they've done with the DLR, IronPython, IronRuby, etc.

Just because they don't want Singularity code to be "open source" and therefore didn't use an open source license, doesn't mean that they don't understand open source, quite the contrary.

If your main concern is using this code in an open source project, then you aren't the target for this code. Not everything is about you.

Edited 2008-03-04 23:53 UTC

You don't seem to understand how an academic liscence works. The MS-LA is for use in teaching and learning, the MS-PL is for open source. Since this whole thing was always just meant to be an internal research project, it is nice that they did this. It would be great if they published it under the MS-PL, but this is not exactly useless.