Microsoft spinoff, competitor rebrand themselves

Two keepers of open-source code have rebranded themselves as of September 28.

One is the Microsoft spinoff formerly known as the CodePlex Foundation. That organization is now going by the name by the Outercurve Foundation. Microsoft spun off the not-for-profit open-source group in 2009. The new name should help reduce confusion between the Foundation and the open-source repository which is named CodePlex.com.

The OpenOffice.org Project has undertaken a major restructuring, via which it is separating itself from Oracle. OpenOffice.org is now known as The Document Foundation, and its development and direction will be determined by a steering commitee of developers and project managers. The OpenOffice.org suite is going by the temporary name of LibreOffice, which will remain until Oracle makes a decision as to whether it will donate the OpenOffice.org brand to the group.

The Foundation has invited Oracle to rejoin the OpenOffice community by applying for membership. As The Register notes, "based on Oracle's history of responding to community ultimatums, we suggest you get used to LibreOffice."