Microsoft halts Windows 7 tool after GPL code claims

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Ina Fried CNET News

Published: 11 Nov 2009 12:17 GMT

Microsoft has halted distribution of a tool aimed at making it easier to put Windows 7 on netbooks amid allegations that the utility makes improper use of open-source code.

The software maker said on Tuesday that it has pulled down the Windows USB/DVD Tool while it investigates the issue, which was raised last week by Windows blogger Rafael Rivera on his Within Windows blog.

In his blog post, Rivera said Microsoft appears to use code from a tool called ImageMaster that is licensed under the GPLv2 open-source licence. The General Public License, like other open-source licences, allows code to be freely used by others, but has its own set of terms and conditions, such as sharing any modifications made to the code.

For more on this story, see Microsoft pulls Windows 7 download tool on CNET News.

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