Microsoft to license some intellectual property

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It does tend to take some of the edge off my distrust of MS that they seem to reacting to the OSS paradigm more positively now than they have in the past. But I can't yet tell if they're sincere about their apparent new willingness to work with non-MS organisations, rather than to squash them. A lot depends on their IP licensing terms, and even more depends on their willingness to work with standards-setting organisations rather than attempting to dictate proprietary or closed standards.

And, no, my condemnation of MS isn't that blind. I don't use MS software (both for ideological and practical reasons), but my wife does. From what I've seen of her use of Windows -- typical business apps and surfing -- it seems to be the right environment for her level of interest in computers (zip, except for the apps she uses) and what she does.

My wife's use of computers is probably fairly typical, and to the extent MS offers a decent environment for the 90+% of the population who are "fairly typical," great. I just wish they'd stop trying, by historically illegal and underhanded means, to cram that environment down the throats of the other 10% of us.

MS seems to subscribe to the "zero-sum" business paradigm; that anything not MS is somehow a loss to them. Reconsidering that philosophy would take them a long towards being a nicer corporate citizen.

Posted by: Chris Moller   Posted on: 12/03/03 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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