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.

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