[Fsf-friends] [bytesforall_readers] FW: [GKD] Microsoft to Share Windows Code with India (fwd)

[Frederick Noronha]

Posted by Ashish Kotamkar, initially on the BytesForAll list. FN

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Interesting observation about Microsoft "sharing" its source code by
Philippe Bechamp on the GKD list.
Ashish

-----Original Message-----
From: Philippe Bechamp

Dear GKD Members,

The offer by Microsoft to share it's source code with the Indian
government may seem like a surprise and a positive move but it is
actually nothing new.

Microsoft, in response to the Open Source phenomenon, has been running
this "Shared Source Initiative" for quite some time. This policy in no
way changes anything fundamental in Microsoft's way of doing business.
It merely gives you a one year license to look at Microsoft's code,
without changing, modifying, redistributing their source
<http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sharedsource/government.asp>. This
part of Microsoft's long standing campaign and strategy against Open
Source, as initially defined by "The Halloween Documents" (for which a
search will yield many results).

India could have asked for this program a long time ago. This is just an
opportunistic announcement, part of a larger strategy. Microsoft seems
very afraid of Open Source. It is not responding to market or government
needs, but to a market threat, and responding very weakly.

Microsoft's shared source program in no way competes with Open Source
licensing. With Open source, you have source code, with Microsoft you
might, if you are big and rich enough. But the similarity stops there.
With OSS, you can modify the source code and possibly get integrated
back in the main code base. MS prohibits this, even just modifying for
internal use. With OSS, there are no licensing costs, with MS, very
large ones on restrictive terms. With OSS, you can resell what you
modify, give it away even pay people to use it. With MS, none of this.
The list goes on.

Microsoft's policies are about restricting your freedom. OSS is about
expanding it.

Please expect to see more of these types of 'news' in the future. It is
the second time in a month that I run across misleading Microsoft
informations on my development related lists. The largest software
company in the world is on the path to diminish OSS as much as possible.
It can wine and dine people, it can spew press releases but,
fundamentally, nothing has changed.

Best regards,

Philippe

--
Philippe Bechamp
bechamp@web.net



Margaret Grieco <Msgrieco@aol.com> wrote:

> That microsoft is willing to share source code with India governmental
> agencies as a measure to stem the development of Linux competition is
> important news.
>
> Microsoft has understood the importance of policy and governance markets
> as opposed to private consumer and commercial markets ahead of the
> development institutions.




------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get 128 Bit SSL Encryption!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/CBxunD/vN2EAA/xGHJAA/C7EolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
bytesforall_readers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/