Microsoft joins group working to 'cure' open-source licensing issues
Microsoft is one of 10 companies now committed to work through open-source software licensing problems involving the GPL with customers before resorting to legal action.
Microsoft is one of 10 companies now committed to work through open-source software licensing problems involving the GPL with customers before resorting to legal action.
Microsoft is now allowing developers hosting open-source projects on its CodePlex site to use the once-dreaded GPLv3 open source license.
Don't look now, but Microsoft is continuing to open source many of its own technologies, even though it is still competing with Linux and Android vendors.
It's relatively rare that Microsoft execs comment officially on Redmond's competitors. Something's got to really hit a nerve before that happens. It seems that occurred this week, based on a June 9 post on the Microsoft Virtualization Team Blog.
It took the Free Software Foundation almost two months. But the organization has finally issued an official statement regarding Microsoft's claim that it won't be bound by terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3 in its patent-protection deals with various open-source vendors. Not surprisingly, he FSF says Microsoft's claims are bogus.
With one stroke, Microsoft has ended any illusion that it planned to try to build bridges with the open-source community. And it appears the primary reason for Microsoft's decision to go back on the public attack against Linux and other open-source software is the looming Version 3 of the Free Software Foundation's General Public License (GPL).
Even though Microsoft and Yahoo allegedly are at the bargaining table, I can't help but wonder what Yahoo is doing behind the scenes to minimize Microsoft's impact when and if it acquires Yahoo.
Microsoft is running as fast as it can to patch up its patent agreements with Linux vendors to thwart any possible impact from the GPLv3. On the heels of repudiating any Novell Linux products covered by the GPLv3, Microsoft is taking a similar tack with Linspire.
The Novell-Microsoft technology partnership hit its one-year milestone. Here are some of the highlights from the past year that Microsoft decided not to tout in its press release marking the anniversary of the controversial deal.
It's been a while since Microsoft signed up any more Linux distro vendors to participate as patent-protection partners. But on October 22, the Redmondians announced they've added TurboLinux to the fold.