Is Microsoft Open Source's Friend?

[Worfox13]

Steve Ballmer looks mad when the other guy speaks.

[SketcherMan2]

Microsoft wants to keep us shackled to their crappy virus prone software.

[MsPwain]

And then after having this speech... Steve Balmer accepted Vista.

WHAT A BLOW AT OPEN SOURCE!!! WOW, HEYA FOR WINDOWS!!!

Well, goood ol' Balmer, I really like you. Because of You I realized the power of Linux. Now Windows is completely gone here, and I will NEVER EVER USE MICROSOFT AGAIN :) Isn't that great? Microsoft will NEVER again get ANY money from me!

[rimtotem]

^_^; i think Ballmer should be closed source...:P i don't want his insanity open sourced at all..

[Gurkenstolz]

Thanks for Open XML...

[Fisaren]

Steve Ballmer is a doucebag, I seriously HATE that asshole.

[MsPwain]

@Fisaren Completely agree, the man is a complete jooke. But don't say it too loud, we wouldn't want him to be fired too soon. He is EXCELLENT for open source. I really like him to be the leader of Microsoft, because then Linux will have a chance.

[vme64]

Microshit is crappy

[jeroeniskoning]

Fuck massive software companies....

[youdanieltube]

steve ballmer may be an idiot, but he's not on his own; there's plenty of really smart people in M$, and they must have told the mutt - we gotta do something, and do it now; the first whitepapers about linux and opensource go back to 1999 (jim allchin etc.) customers and data centers are also putting a lot of pressure on M$, so they have to take it into account, whether they like it or not; otherwise they're going to lose in the long run, so they don't really have a choice, they HAVE to do it

[kmav81]

no its not

[cheetah100]

What Microsoft did to personally defame those supporting true interoperability in the ODF format and rail roading OOXML through ISO was nothing short of reprehensible. Just look at these guys body language. Its like they are spitting out the words. They know standards will bring freedom for people to stop using their products.

[KohrsAKT]

I don't know why Ballmer scares me.

[metasuperhyper]

First I was like 'huh?'. Then I was like 'what?'.

[adorablepuppy]

I believe this is saying that they're going to try to find new ways to do old things to avoid going by pre-established standards and define their own standards as they always have. I also believe this push on new "inter operable" services to be Microsoft's scared attempt to regain internet market share from Google's fine services. An old strategy with a fresh marketing campaign.

[RationalEmotive]

Ozzie's "constraints can be liberating" sounds more than Orwellian, pretty evil indeed. As you well recognized the aim is to yet again promote arbitrary new networking standards and allow users maybe to develop on top of those and around them but not question the unknown code itself. They can try, but MS's time is over. Not to endorse Bush but: "My answer is: bring 'em on!"

[carlostinonsa]

Microsoft an Open Source friend? yeah in my dreams, just hear Ballmer saying bad things about Open Source, well i really understand themselves, Linux is an strong competitor, Microsoft can leave any advantage for they, They are opposite things Closed and Open, NOT compatible, but in some case they use Open Source methodology to show code to some developers plus few more things, but i thing it stills need time to see a good interoperability with Open Source.

[SmileHeart4ever]

Nop. Guys it does that to document their code for sake, have you ever seen a bunch of code without proper documentation .. No one can standarise your source but for sure can help you build it on proper patterns and well structured and optimized one MS is a Company such like other software vendors and it has all the right to protect its platform code but look at every product released by Microsoft, NOTICE IT HAS SDK to allow developers (Heroes) to develop and integrate their applications with it

[websnarf]

*Sigh*. Putting up a bunch of documents describing their file formats is at best an adherence to *open standards* which is *NOT* the same thing as open source.

Embracing open source means abandoning patent based litigation threats, contributing code, and not acting against open source platforms via proprietary means. Support for Samba, for example, would probably be very helpful and welcome from the open source community.

[rml695]

I agree; it sounds like Microsoft is now trying to standardize open source, and thus make it closed source, and that's not right.