23rd
Hell Froze, Microsoft Contributes To Linux Kernel
You didn’t read that incorrectly. And no, this isn’t an April fool’s joke (It isn’t April, for one thing!) Linux Magazine posted an article saying, “Microsoft Patches Linux Kernel”.
Microsoft that “enemy” of Open Source, that behemoth of a machine has sent contributions for inclusion into the Kernel tree. What the heck for? To make linux run better on Microsoft Virtualization Technology. Oh, and the license is under GPL.
I know what you’re thinking. You didn’t think Hell would freeze in your life time. Yeah, me too.
Linus was quoted by Linux Magazine saying (and I completely agree):
Linus states that this is how all open source code gets written, developers scratching an itch. The fact that this comes from Microsoft shouldn’t make any difference at all, saying:
“I agree that it’s driven by selfish reasons, but that’s how all open source code gets written! We all “scratch our own itches”. It’s why I started Linux, it’s why I started git, and it’s why I am still involved. It’s the reason for everybody to end up in open source, to some degree.
So complaining about the fact that Microsoft picked a selfish area to work on is just silly. Of course they picked an area that helps them. That’s the point of open source - the ability to make the code better for your particular needs, whoever the ‘your’ in question happens to be.
Does anybody complain when hardware companies write drivers for the hardware they produce? No. That would be crazy. Does anybody complain when IBM funds all the POWER development, and works on enterprise features because they sell into the enterprise? No. That would be insane.
So the people who complain about Microsoft writing drivers for their own virtualization model should take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves why they are being so hypocritical.”
May this be the beginning of years of partnership. So welcome, dear Redmond friends to the cyberspace of open source!
