Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 25th Jan 2006 18:22 UTC, submitted by James Ralston
Microsoft is to open up the source code behind its server communication protocols, in an attempt to get the European Commission off its back. The announcement covers the source code behind the communication protocols for Windows Workgroup Server and Windows Desktop. Microsoft already offers 12000 pages of technical documents and 500 hours of free technical support to anyone applying for a license. Companies making software which interacts with Microsoft servers use those licences to make their products work properly with Microsoft ones. Such license-holders will now also get to look at the source code, but will not have the right to publish the code or include it in their own products.
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Member since:2005-07-12
I disagree. Releasing the source was neither required nor requested, and viewing the source code would subject the viewer to the potential for additional IP burdens that would not typically be associated with a simple protocol specification document.
Unless Microsoft is willing to allow their source code to be used as a reference for the creation of competing freeware implementations of their protocols, this gesture of theirs is very close to being worthless, at least in terms of making their protocols truly available (which is the entire point of this exercise).
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Member since:
2005-07-06
Finally! Now maybe the EU will get off their asses and find something else to do. Let them develop their software already!