ZDNet UK

• CNET NETWORKS UK BUSINESS SITES:
• atlarge.com
• BNET UK
• silicon.com
• SmartPlanet.com
• ZDNet.co.uk

Microsoft keeps its open source enemies close

Matthew Broersma ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 30 Jun 2005 17:00 BST

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

There is also support for open source within Microsoft, although Microsoft executives have flatly denied there is any "dissent" within the company, much less a "civil war", as once suggested by Red Hat's Tiemann. There are product groups within Microsoft that are genuinely enthusiastic about open source and others that are dramatically less so, according to industry observers.

Is it just a matter of time, then, before Microsoft relaxes enough to start porting core software such as Office or Outlook to Linux? There are plenty of reasons why such a move would be in Microsoft's best interests. In pure business terms, withholding support from a growing platform is simply handing competitors an opportunity, says O'Grady. And Microsoft's approach is increasingly out of step with the way technology is evolving. "A single-platform approach I think will become increasingly problematic as competitive, cross-platform alternatives mature and become more viable," Red Monk's O'Grady says.

That said, Microsoft shows no sign of actually making such a radical step, industry observers say — "Not in the near future, anyway," according to O'Grady.

Eric Raymond, a prominent figure in the open source community, says a release of Office for Linux isn't even that desirable, since alternatives such as StarOffice and OpenOffice.org are already available. "The important move would be to document all (Microsoft's) file formats and communications protocols, make the documentation publicly available, and make a binding promise not to sue or harass people who write open source software to interoperate," he says.

Other steps Microsoft could take to show it is genuinely willing to work alongside the open-source world could include better support for Firefox alongside of Internet Explorer, native support within Office for OASIS' OpenDocument standard, relaxing the company's stance on software patents, and a better attitude toward contributing to technical standards, say those in the industry.

Embrace, extend, extinguish
Microsoft hasn't exactly been backed into a corner by open-source competition, and there's another very good reason for the company to get on speaking terms with the open source world. That is, it could help the company compete, and eventually perhaps overcome the open-source adversary. "The best way to learn stuff is to engage with people, and if they wanted to have an intelligent debate they needed to take some of the heat out," says Governor. "That could be positive, in that they're reaching out and trying to convince people of their point of view. But the Microsoft playbook has always been embrace, extend and extinguish."

Those in the open source community have few illusions about Microsoft. Linus Torvalds has said he expects Microsoft's "conversations" to be mostly threats and positioning. And other open source leaders point out that along with all the pleasant conversation, Microsoft is continuing to do all it can to keep open source from getting ahead.

The company supports extending software patents in the EU, and unapologetically defends its right to use software patents as a weapon in the US. In releasing Windows communications protocols to competitors, as required by last year's European Commission antitrust ruling, Microsoft attached licensing conditions that block open source projects like Samba from using the protocols effectively. Microsoft has a track record of attempting to include its patented technology in technical standards.

Kernel maintainer Morton says such activities are "very telling indeed" and hasn't seen any change in Microsoft's real activities. "The strategy for Microsoft is obvious: work to dissipate the ill-will while not actually giving anything away," he says.

Eric Raymond calls software patents an "extremely serious" threat and calls other Microsoft practices, such as withholding communications protocols and injecting patented technology into open standards, "crash landings"; the rest is superficial public relations. "The open source community is not at war with Microsoft by choice, but only because Microsoft's overriding strategic objective is to crush threats to its monopoly, and the open source community is such a threat," Raymond says. "While that is still Microsoft's goal, peaceful coexistence is not really possible."

In the mean time, few believe Microsoft will be able to find a way to co-opt or extinguish open source. "Open source has a bright future. It's not going away," says analyst Governor. "That may be a reason for Microsoft to engage with it, but once you start doing this stuff, it's disruptive, it's not something you can control. There are too many open source threats to Microsoft to imagine there's one easy way they can wipe it out."

• 
• 
• 
• 

• Share this article:
• Digg
• Slashdot
• Del.ici.ous
• Stumble
• Reddit

• Most Recent
• Most Popular
• Most Discussed