5 ms·
While I would agree (and some would make the point) that Microsoft does this to benefit mostly Microsoft, it's still GPL'ed code that is now part of the greater
by kprobst 15y ago
While I would agree (and some would make the point) that Microsoft does this to benefit mostly Microsoft, it's still GPL'ed code that is now part of the greater Linux kernel codebase, so good on them and everyone else.
- stilist 15y agoOpen source is most effective when multiple parties find their self-interest overlaps.
- Create 15y agoEmbrace and extend, the contribution is basically VM support. Run Linux in a VM, just like XP-mode in win7. The SMB team or ODF people would never go cheering about MS's self-interest...
- scrame 15y ago> Microsoft does this to benefit mostly Microsoft Well, of course. I would wager all the corporate contributions, and a good chunk of the independent contributions are contributing to add features they need. I agree, though, good on them for contributing, and even better for making a substantial contribution, instead of a token gesture. The irony is, there is a benefit to Microsoft for working with open source: if dosbox and wine become good enough to support their legacy software, they can end-of-life a large portion of their compatability codebase that they drag along with each version, and keep the compatability effort to a stable, free platform written for that purpose.
- shin_lao 15y agoWhich product are you talking about?
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- jbellis 15y agoThey don't need dosbox/wine -- "XP mode" in windows 7 is XP running in a virtualized environment.
- windsurfer 15y agoBut their marketing had the brilliant idea of making XP mode only work on some Windows 7 licenses.
- inportb 15y agoAh, but how does that replace DOSBox? iirc, Windows XP does not support real mode DOS software.
- wtallis 15y agoIt does. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_DOS_machine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_DOS_machine NTVDM is unavailable in 64-bit Windows, but XP Mode uses 32-bit XP, so it can be used to run DOS software. (Though there will be trouble if you try to use it to run DOS games.)
- inportb 15y agoNTVDM is useful, but only for the most basic software. For example, many programs do not work on NTVDM because of the limited audio and video support. You mentioned games, and I believe some of them suffer from timing issues (though this may be the games' fault for relying on a specific clock frequency for timing). I'd say it's just good enough for the most useful 16-bit Microsoft utilities.
- wtallis 15y agoI've seen the entire suite of DOS Borland C++ developer tools run under NTVDM, and other non-trivial, useful stuff, like Lotus Magellan. I've also seen some quite trivial programs fail completely in DOSBox due to imperfect compatibility.
- code_duck 15y agoHuh? Microsoft would never do that. Tell their customers to use Free/OSS system? An MS controlled VM system is exactly what they want, and exactly what they've done.
- artsrc 15y agoMicrosoft have so far not advocated competing systems. The initial release of the iPod only interfaced to a Apple computer. Oracle makes a lot of money. Microsoft likes money. At some point being more open may be a Microsoft strategy. Certainly I think they would be more successful if they were more open.
- gaius 15y agoWell, IBM's contributions to Linux are to benefit IBM - they make their money on hardware and services, Linux is what we call a "loss-leader" for them. Red Hat's contributions to Linux are to benefit Red Hat - they make their money on selling support contracts, they've got to have something to support! Intel make their money on CPUs, of course they want to tweak the OS... Basically I don't think that enlightened self-interest is a bad thing.
- shareme 15y agoNot really, MS still claims a patent against Linux used to bash Android OEMs ..accepting this means that we have still not forced MS into a patent lawsuit allowing us to invalidate the patents..
- funkah 15y agoIn my experience, people will always find a way to pooh-pooh the open source contributions of organizations they don't like, e.g. Apple and WebKit/Darwin.