[kwlug-disc] MS in your kernel?

[john at netdirect.ca]

kwlug-disc-bounces at kwlug.org wrote on 07/21/2009 02:37:29 PM:
> Microsoft submits three drivers in 20,000 lines of code for inclusion in
> the Linux kernel - apparently to improve Linux performance in MS
> virtualization:
> 
> http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=15749
> 
> As one of the posters on the linked page noted, the EULA ends on the
> 19,999th line...

Initially I was appalled that the only reason Microsoft was doing this was 
to further their own agenda. It was a knee jerk reaction because Microsoft 
does that so sneakily. But I couldn't bring myself to fault them for that. 
Does Intel, IBM, HP, and others donate code for pure charity? No. They 
want Linux to run better on their hardware. In some projects the benefit 
is less direct. It may be that these contributors simply want viable 
competition for MS to bring prices and pressure down. And to some degree 
it may be the true nature of open source, they are working on programs 
they themselves use.

The real issue I have with this announcement is that it is minor. There 
are lots of individuals who contribute that much code to open source but 
they don't get fanfare. Intel, HP and IBM never got this fanfare despite 
sinking billions into free software.

This is just a tantalizing news byte that doesn't show that Microsoft is 
committed to free software or open source.


John Van Ostrand
Net Direct Inc.
 
CTO, co-CEO
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john at netdirect.ca
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Linux Solutions / IBM Hardware
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