Microsoft Uses Open Source Project To Extend Management To Linux: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Interesting Headline dept.: Management software is one category where Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has never quite measured up to competitors. Redmond hopes to change that with an unlikely weapon: using code from the OpenPegasus project to extend its System Center suite to Linux and Unix environments. Cross-platform management is the No. 1 customer request for System Center, and using open source code to get there represents recognition by Microsoft that it's far from a Windows-only world. It's also a significant move in the company's bid to be seen as a legitimate top-tier choice for enterprise management. Published May 04, 2008 - 02:13 PM Read more... Comment

Microsoft-Novell take open-source software alliance to China: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Getting Paid for Something at Least dept.: Microsoft and Novell have announced they were expanding their alliance in making patent-protected and open-source programs interoperable into the hot China market. The firms said on Sunday they are putting "particular emphasis" on China because increasingly sophisticated businesses rely on combinations of software based on Microsoft's Windows operating systems and non-proprietary Linux systems. Published Apr 21, 2008 - 02:53 PM Read more... Comment

Microsoft gets a new open-source chief: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Next Effigy dept.: Sam Ramji just got a promotion: Sam will now be running Microsoft's worldwide open-source and Linux team (roughly 120 people and counting). Sam had been the director of Microsoft's open-source software lab. In this new role, he'll continue to oversee the lab but also take on a more strategic role within the company (and, by extension, within the industry). Published Apr 09, 2008 - 05:04 PM Read more... Comment

Microsoft to Support Two Eclipse Projects: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the MSEclipse dept.: In a speech at the EclipseCon 2008 conference here March 19, Sam Ramji, Microsoft’s chief open-source advocate, delivered a morning keynote and said that Microsoft will support two key Eclipse technologies, and he hinted that there may be more to come. Ramji is the director of platform technology strategy at Microsoft. Continuing its push to get along with open-source projects and technologies, Ramji said Microsoft now will support SWT and the Higgins identity management project. Published Mar 19, 2008 - 06:57 PM Read more... Comment

TurboLinux Strikes Patent Covenant with Microsoft: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Bad News? dept.: n a deal that could lead to the creation of a unique cross-platform authentication system for heterogenous networks, Tokyo-based Linux distributor Turbolinux announced this morning, Japan time, it has reached an agreement with Microsoft for a cross-licensing of the two companies' patent portfolios. On the surface, what Turbolinux gets out of this is the interoperability information it needs to develop a single-sign-on service, enabling users to authenticate themselves once and transfer that security authority between operating systems. That's how Microsoft is playing up the deal today, as it announces it will establish a permanent workshop at its Beijing office "to focus on testing and showcasing solutions for customers and partners," as last night's announcement put it. Published Oct 24, 2007 - 12:45 PM Read more... Comment

OSI Approves Microsoft License Submissions: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Come again??? dept.: Acting on the advice of the License Approval Chair, the OSI Board today approved the Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL) and the Microsoft Reciprocal License (Ms-RL). The decision to approve was informed by the overwhelming (though not unanimous) consensus from the open source community that these licenses satisfied the 10 criteria of the Open Source definition, and should therefore be approved. Published Oct 22, 2007 - 05:05 PM Read more... Comment

Novell's Linux business spikes since Microsoft deal: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Hmmmmm dept.: Novell's Linux business has soared 243 percent since last November when the company signed its controversial deal with Microsoft. "The affect on sales year over year, for Novell's first three quarters of our fiscal year, which ends Oct. 31 -- our Linux business was up 243 percent year over year," said Justin Steinman, director of marketing at Novell, who, along with executives from both companies, spoke at a program hosted by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. Published Sep 27, 2007 - 05:04 PM Read more... Comment

Microsoft Dealt EU defeat: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Whammo! dept.: Specifically, The EU’s second highest court backed a European Commission ruling that Microsoft abused its power to thwart rivals. The biggest issue: Whether Microsoft has to share code to make software interoperable. European regulators issued an antitrust ruling in 2004 that Microsoft hurt consumer choice by tying new applications to Windows. The 2004 decision ruled that Microsoft must offer a version of Windows without media player software and also provide interface information for the server operating system to competitors. Published Sep 18, 2007 - 02:49 PM Read more... Comment

Red Hat to MS: Let's Talk Interoperability: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the One War, Many Fronts dept.: Even though patent talks between Microsoft and Red Hat broke down last year before Microsoft went on to sign a technical collaboration and patent indemnity deal with Novell, Red Hat is still willing to work with the Redmond software maker on the interoperability front. Published Jul 04, 2007 - 11:56 AM Read more... Comment

Ubuntu, Red Hat reject Microsoft patent deal: Microsoft Posted by: comforteagle From the Among Others dept.: Red Hat, the largest Linux vendor, and Ubuntu-maker Canonical have both rejected calls from Microsoft to forge a deal similar to the one the Redmond giant signed with Linux distributors Novell, Xandros, and Linspire. Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical's CEO, said in a blog posting on Saturday, that Canonical has declined to talk to Microsoft about any agreement that provides legal protection to Ubuntu users related to "unspecified patents". Published Jun 20, 2007 - 12:06 PM Read more... Comment