[Tfug] Microsoft releases 20K LOC for Linux kernel

[Claude Rubinson]

On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 03:02:41PM -0700, Glen Pfeiffer wrote:
> On Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 02:31:31PM -0700, Claude Rubinson wrote:
> > It is noteworthy in that it's the first time that Microsoft's 
> > contributed directly to Linux, the kernel and, as such,  
> > provides a nice talking point.  But I don't think that it's 
> > either the "change of face" that some seem to want nor a "trap" 
> > that others suspect.
> 
> I agree that this does not represent a change of heart. But I'm 
> not sure about the "trap". I think our community should continue 
> to be very cautious and remember that Microsoft *does* wish to 
> destroy Linux. But I am not sure how that should impact the 
> decision to include the code.

The two large threats to F/OSS that the Free Software Foundation has
identified are (a) software patents and (b) Tivoization.  Once
software is licensed under the GPL (either version 2 or 3), the threat
of (a) goes away as both provide patent use protection (v2 implicitly
and v3 explicitly).  Tivoization is a larger problem as it provides a
way of "releasing" unusable code (and thereby complying with the
letter of the license).

I think that being wary of Microsoft (and Apple and Google and Sun and
IBM and all other proprietary software companies) is wise.  But, as
(b) isn't in play here, I don't think that there's anything to fear
with regard to the current software.

Claude