8 ms·

Microsoft submits code to be considered for the Linux Kernel

3 points by hexis 17y ago

jacquesm 17y ago
Did hell freeze over or what ? (checks outside) While I'm pleased that microsoft would do a thing like this I wonder what their motives are. It's not as if open source is very high up in their priority list and Steve Ballmer is on the record as saying that Open Source is enemy #1 of microsoft.
- BrentRitterbeck 17y ago
  Sam Ramji, Senior Director of Platform Strategy, and Tom Hanrahan, Director of the Open Source Technology Center, discuss the release of this code under General Public License v2 and how both customer and community demand is driving better integration between Windows and Linux. Looks like it's clearly spelled out right in the text on the page linked to. Better integration is likely to lead to more profit opportunities and their customers are demanding it. Last time I checked, ignoring your customers is a bad way to do business. I don't see why Linux and Microsoft have to be completely separated. Open Source and closed source can peacefully coexist. If you can find a way to make money off of open source, then congratulations.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    If the guy that swears he is your enemy starts to give you gifts it is wise to be cautious.
    - BrentRitterbeck 17y ago
      This isn't feudal China, Renaissance Italy, or the Mafia. I'm sure the actions of Microsoft are purely with the view of future profit in mind.
      - jacquesm 17y ago
        Oh, we agree on that. It's just the method that I'm worried about.
        BrentRitterbeck 17y ago
        Microsoft can't put thousands of contributors out of business if there is no business to begin with. A lot of these people contribute their free time.
        jacquesm 17y ago
        I'm not worried about contributors being put out of business. These guys now contributing to a kernel that they claimed not that long ago contains numerous patent violations seems a little weird, if not downright suspicious. But, let's give it some time and see how it plays out. Maybe next week they'll open source excel, who knows :)
- bep 17y ago
  They are fighting with VMWare in the virtualization market. They need this to have a better support of HyperV in Linux. That means work with the kernel developers and their rules.
  - gscott 17y ago
    Embrace, extend, extinguish. That should enough reason to keep out even an otherwise perfectly functional contribution.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      exactly. I wouldn't touch any code contributed by microsoft with a 10 foot pole. There is bound to be some catch or strategic trick here.
    - jknupp 17y ago
      Code itself has no agenda. You would reject code solely on the basis of its submitter even if it adds desired functionality (which seems to be the case here)? That's an extremely slippery slope.
      - gscott 17y ago
        That is being greedy and unwise. Once Linux fully works well like Microsoft wants with Windows that gives Microsoft the door for them to say "Well your system is fully interoperable with Windows already, we are coming out with a new version that breaks that functionality and you will no longer be able to use the system like you have been, why don't you just switch to Windows on all of your machines and save yourself the hassle". It will take a few years but Microsoft is in business for the long haul, they will feed Linux just enough to hang it.
        scscsc 17y ago
        I am not contesting that what you say is technically possible, but that would be a bad move from Microsoft considering they are threatened non-stop with anti-monopoly suits. Also, they don't need to change Windows, just the hypervisor. Though it would probably break other OSs too, not just Linux.
- nopassrecover 17y ago
  Read the job posting (https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?jid=5072 https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?jid=5072, posted by lg here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=714731 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=714731) where they actually mention "Imagine a job as a Linux Kernel Developer; now imagine this job inside of Microsoft. Well, it looks like Hell has frozen over, if that sounds like something impossible and you like doing the impossible and you want to be part of an exciting change, than this job is for you.".
mbenjaminsmith 17y ago
It's a trojan.
- scscsc 17y ago
  Why would you say that?
  - mbenjaminsmith 17y ago
    Bad joke...
scscsc 17y ago
For those who skipped the details, its a bunch of drivers to make Linux work better under their hypervisor. I think this is a smart move from Microsoft, both in the short and in the long term. It scores points with the open source movement, it scores points with their clients who run Linux over Windows and in the long run they gain leverage over what their users really run (Windows, not Linux).

3 points by hexis 17y ago

Did hell freeze over or what ? (checks outside) While I'm pleased that microsoft would do a thing like this I wonder what their motives are. It's not as if open source is very high up in their priority list and Steve Ballmer is on the record as saying that Open Source is enemy #1 of microsoft.

BrentRitterbeck 17y ago
Sam Ramji, Senior Director of Platform Strategy, and Tom Hanrahan, Director of the Open Source Technology Center, discuss the release of this code under General Public License v2 and how both customer and community demand is driving better integration between Windows and Linux. Looks like it's clearly spelled out right in the text on the page linked to. Better integration is likely to lead to more profit opportunities and their customers are demanding it. Last time I checked, ignoring your customers is a bad way to do business. I don't see why Linux and Microsoft have to be completely separated. Open Source and closed source can peacefully coexist. If you can find a way to make money off of open source, then congratulations.
- jacquesm 17y ago
  If the guy that swears he is your enemy starts to give you gifts it is wise to be cautious.
  - BrentRitterbeck 17y ago
    This isn't feudal China, Renaissance Italy, or the Mafia. I'm sure the actions of Microsoft are purely with the view of future profit in mind.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      Oh, we agree on that. It's just the method that I'm worried about.
      - BrentRitterbeck 17y ago
        Microsoft can't put thousands of contributors out of business if there is no business to begin with. A lot of these people contribute their free time.
        jacquesm 17y ago
        I'm not worried about contributors being put out of business. These guys now contributing to a kernel that they claimed not that long ago contains numerous patent violations seems a little weird, if not downright suspicious. But, let's give it some time and see how it plays out. Maybe next week they'll open source excel, who knows :)
bep 17y ago
They are fighting with VMWare in the virtualization market. They need this to have a better support of HyperV in Linux. That means work with the kernel developers and their rules.
- gscott 17y ago
  Embrace, extend, extinguish. That should enough reason to keep out even an otherwise perfectly functional contribution.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    exactly. I wouldn't touch any code contributed by microsoft with a 10 foot pole. There is bound to be some catch or strategic trick here.
  - jknupp 17y ago
    Code itself has no agenda. You would reject code solely on the basis of its submitter even if it adds desired functionality (which seems to be the case here)? That's an extremely slippery slope.
    - gscott 17y ago
      That is being greedy and unwise. Once Linux fully works well like Microsoft wants with Windows that gives Microsoft the door for them to say "Well your system is fully interoperable with Windows already, we are coming out with a new version that breaks that functionality and you will no longer be able to use the system like you have been, why don't you just switch to Windows on all of your machines and save yourself the hassle". It will take a few years but Microsoft is in business for the long haul, they will feed Linux just enough to hang it.
      - scscsc 17y ago
        I am not contesting that what you say is technically possible, but that would be a bad move from Microsoft considering they are threatened non-stop with anti-monopoly suits. Also, they don't need to change Windows, just the hypervisor. Though it would probably break other OSs too, not just Linux.
nopassrecover 17y ago
Read the job posting (https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?jid=5072 https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?jid=5072, posted by lg here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=714731 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=714731) where they actually mention "Imagine a job as a Linux Kernel Developer; now imagine this job inside of Microsoft. Well, it looks like Hell has frozen over, if that sounds like something impossible and you like doing the impossible and you want to be part of an exciting change, than this job is for you.".

mbenjaminsmith 17y ago

It's a trojan.

scscsc 17y ago
Why would you say that?
- mbenjaminsmith 17y ago
  Bad joke...

scscsc 17y ago

For those who skipped the details, its a bunch of drivers to make Linux work better under their hypervisor. I think this is a smart move from Microsoft, both in the short and in the long term. It scores points with the open source movement, it scores points with their clients who run Linux over Windows and in the long run they gain leverage over what their users really run (Windows, not Linux).