Microsoft is eliminating many restrictions on the use of the “shared source” license for its Windows CE operating system. Significantly, ror the first time, any developer, anywhere in the world will be allowed to include modified Windows CE code within commercial products without having to sublicense the modifications back to Microsoft. The change, which accompanies the impending full release of Windows CE 5.0, will counter competition from Linux and is likely to expand Microsoft’s slice of the roughly $1B embedded OS market pie.
Developers are not required to submit code changes back to MS, so the the license is BSD-like.
That MS realized that it takes people to make open source work. You can’t convice people to turn over the changes they make to you. Provide them for all maybe, but to just give them to you nope never worked.
Developers are not required to submit code changes back to MS, so the the license is BSD-like.
Not really; I mean, commercial licenses have been allowing licensees to take, modify and release code for years. Yeah, BSD does it too, but BSD code is also free to anyone who wants to take it.
when Microsoft backpedals to try to keep from losing market share. Its these simple things in life that make me smile. Maybe one day no one will have to worry about the legal threats these proprietary software companies used to be able to get away with. Maybe one day there will be no more BSA, because its very existence might be bad for business when their competition takes the high road and everyone knows they will never have to deal with such a draconian organization simply by making a choice of who’s software they use.
The important thing to remember here is Microsoft is being forced by economic and financial pressure to make these changes instead of doing this out of the kindness of their heart. The proof? Why would they create a shared source license that prohibits copying or using these bits of source code while not release the whole of the OS or Office with these virtually proprietary licensing restrictions? Could it be that they have something to hide, or protect as the case may be? Or do they have to do this to maintain their public image when being compared with all the new competition? I think its great that it takes a movement like FOSS to forces these changes when Sun, IBM, Apple, BeOS, DEC, HP, etc. could not do it on their own. That says something about the might of the sword vs. pen, or keyboard, IMO.
Let freedom ring.