Microsoft and open source: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:30, 14 August 2022

Revision as of 06:16, 13 October 2022

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Microsoft successfully expanded in personal computer and enterprise server markets through the 1990s, partially on the strength of the company's marketing strategies.{{sfn|Radits|2019|pp=27–28}} By the late 1990s, Microsoft came to view the growing open source movement as a threat to their revenue and platform. Internal strategy memos from this period, known as the [[Halloween documents]], describe the company's potential approaches to stopping open source momentum. One strategy was "[[embrace-extend-extinguish]]", in which Microsoft would adopt standard technology, add proprietary extensions, and upon establishing a customer base, would lock consumers into the proprietary extension to assert a monopoly of the space. The memos also acknowledged open source as a methodology capable of meeting or exceeding proprietary development methodology. Microsoft downplayed these memos as the opinions of an individual employee and not Microsoft's official position.{{sfn|Radits|2019|p=27}}

While many major companies worked with open source software in the 2000s,{{sfn|Radits|2019|p=30}} the decade was also marked by a "perennial war" between Microsoft and open source in which Microsoft continued to view open source as a scourge on its business{{sfn|Radits|2019|p=31}} and developed a reputation as the archenemy of the free and open source movement.{{sfn|Radits|2019|p=32}} Bill Gates and Microsoft CEO [[Steve Ballmer]] suggested free software developers and the Linux kernel were communist.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lea|first=Graham|date=July 31, 2000|title=MS' Ballmer: Linux is communism|work=[[The Register]]|url=https://www.theregister.com/2000/07/31/ms_ballmer_linux_is_communism/|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Penenberg|first=Adam L.|date=November 21, 2005|title=Red Herring|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|url=https://slate.com/technology/2005/11/the-open-source-movement-isn-t-communism.html|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newsmagazine|last=Hernandez|first=Daniela|date=July 4, 2014|title=Watch Steve Ballmer Mock Linux While Dressed as The Matrix's Neo|workmagazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/07/tech-time-warp-ms-matrix/|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> Ballmer also likened [[Linux]] to a kind of cancer on intellectual property. Microsoft [[Microsoft vs. Lindows|sued Lindows]], a Linux operating system that could run [[Microsoft Windows]] applications, as a trademark violation. The court rejected the claim and after Microsoft purchased its trademark, the software changed its name to [[Linspire]].{{sfn|Radits|2019|p=31}}

In 2002, Microsoft began experimenting with 'shared source', including the [[Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure]], the core of [[.NET Framework]].<ref name="boxofcables.dev">{{Cite web |url=https://boxofcables.dev/microsoft-and-open-source-an-unofficial-timeline/ |title=Microsoft and Open Source: An unofficial timeline |access-date=2020-10-18 |last=Barnes |first=Hayden |date=May 23, 2020 |website=boxofcables.dev}}</ref>

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Microsoft released [[Microsoft SQL Server|SQL Server]] and the now open source [[PowerShell]] for Linux.<ref name="boxofcables.dev" /> Also, Microsoft began porting [[Sysinternals]] tools, including [[ProcDump]] and [[Process Monitor|ProcMon]], to [[Linux]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-working-on-porting-sysinternals-to-linux/|title=Microsoft working on porting Sysinternals to Linux|last=Cimpanu|first=Catalin|date=5 November 2018|website=[[ZDNet]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=5 November 2018}}</ref> [[R Tools for Visual Studio]] were released under [[Apache License 2.0]] in March 2016.

In March 2016, Ballmer changed his stance on Linux, saying that he supports his successor Satya Nadella's open source commitments. He maintained that his comments in 2001 were right at the time but that times have changed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.informationweek.com/software/ballmer-linux-no-longer-a-cancer--/d/d-id/1324661|title=Ballmer: Linux No Longer A Cancer - InformationWeek|date=March 11, 2016 |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.silicon.co.uk/software/open-source/steve-ballmer-linux-microsoft-187802?inf_by=5a088e9d671db8d83d8b4959|title=Steve Ballmer: Linux Is No Longer 'A Cancer'|date=March 11, 2016|publisher=}}</ref>

Commentators have noted the adoption of open source and the change of strategy at Microsoft:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-and-open-source-have-won-get-over-it/|title=Linux and open source have won, get over it|first=Steven J.|last=Vaughan-Nichols|website=ZDNet}}</ref>

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Since 2018, Microsoft has been a sponsor of the [[AdoptOpenJDK]] project. It is a drop-in replacement for [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]]'s [[Java (programming language)|Java]]/[[Java Development Kit|JDK]].<ref name="ZDNet_2020-06-24">{{Cite web|last=Foley|first=Mary Jo|date=2020-06-24|title=Microsoft completes phase one of porting OpenJDK for Windows 10 on ARM devices|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-completes-phase-one-of-porting-openjdk-for-windows-10-on-arm-devices/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=ZDNet|language=en-US}}</ref>

In April 2018, Microsoft released the Windows 3.x/Windows NT [[File Manager (Windows)|File Manager]] source code licensed under the [[MIT License]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/09/90s-kids-rejoice-microsoft-releases-the-original-windows-3-0-file-manager-source-code/ |title=90s kids rejoice! Microsoft releases the original Windows 3.0 File Manager source code |author=John Biggs |date=April 9, 2018 |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/9/17214586/microsoft-windows-file-manager-windows-10-app-download |title=Microsoft open-sources original File Manager from the '90s so it can run on Windows 10 - The Verge |author=Tom Warren |publisher=The Verge |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> In August 2018, Microsoft added support for the open source [[Python (programming language)|Python]] programming language to [[Power BI]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/3299704/microsoft-adds-python-support-to-power-bi.html|title=Microsoft adds Python support to Power BI|first=Serdar|last=Yegulalp|date=August 22, 2018|website=InfoWorld}}</ref> In October 2018, Microsoft joined the [[Open Invention Network]]<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Vaughan-Nichols |first1=Steven J. |title=Microsoft open-sources its patent portfolio |work=[[ZDNet]] |date=2018-10-10 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-open-sources-its-entire-patent-portfolio/ |language=en |access-date=2019-04-21 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and cross-licensed 60,000 patents with the open source community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-does-microsoft-joining-the-open-invention-network-mean-for-you/|title=What does Microsoft joining the Open Invention Network mean for you?|first=Steven J.|last=Vaughan-Nichols|website=ZDNet}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gartenberg |first1=Chaim |title=Microsoft makes its 60,000 patents open source to help Linux |work=[[The Verge]] |date=2018-10-10 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/10/17959978/microsoft-makes-its-60000-patents-open-source-to-help-linux |access-date=2019-04-21 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 2019, Microsoft's Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 transitioned from an emulated Linux kernel to a full Linux kernel within a [[virtual machine]], improving processor performance manifold. In-keeping with the GPL open source license, Microsoft will submit its kernel improvements for accommodation into the master, public release.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bright |first1=Peter |title=Windows 10 will soon ship with a full, open source, GPLed Linux kernel |work=[[Ars Technica]] |date=2019-05-06 |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/05/windows-10-will-soon-ship-with-a-full-open-source-gpled-linux-kernel/ |access-date=2019-05-07 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

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In August 2021, Microsoft announced that it is expanding its partnership to become a ''Strategic Member'' at the Eclipse Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-is-now-a-strategic-member-of-the-eclipse-foundation/|title=Microsoft is now a Strategic Member of the Eclipse Foundation|last=Jawad|first=Usama|date=3 August 2021|website=[[Neowin]]|access-date=3 August 2021}}</ref>

Microsoft released the source code of [[3D Movie Maker]] under the [[MIT License]] in May 2022,<ref>{{cite web |title=microsoft / Microsoft-3D-Movie-Maker |url=https://github.com/microsoft/Microsoft-3D-Movie-Maker |website=Github |access-date=4 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hanselman |first1=Scott |title='Hey friends - we've open sourced the code to 1995's Microsoft 3D Movie Maker …' |url=https://twitter.com/shanselman/status/1521698902579159040 |website=Twitter |access-date=4 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> following a request by the [[Twitter]] user ''Foone'' a month earlier.<ref>{{cite web |author=Foone |title='hey @Microsoft give me the source code to 3D Movie Maker. …' |url=https://twitter.com/Foone/status/1511808848729804803 |website=Twitter |access-date=4 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Also in May, Microsoft joined the XDP community and released a new open-source [[Express Data Path]] interface for Windows.<ref name="neowin-2022-05-25">{{cite web|url=https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-brings-linux-xdp-project-to-windows/|title=Microsoft brings Linux XDP project to Windows|last=Jawad|first=Usama|date=25 May 2022|website=[[Neowin]]|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="cloud7-2022-05-25">{{cite web|url=https://cloud7.news/development/microsoft-introduced-open-source-xdp-for-windows/|title=Microsoft introduced open-source XDP for Windows|last=Yasar|first=Erdem|date=25 May 2022|website=[[cloud7]]|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>

In August 2022, Microsoft open sourced more than 1,500 of its 3D [[emoji]] to let creators remix and customize them. The library is available on [[Figma (software)|Figma]] and GitHub.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/10/23299527/microsoft-emoji-open-source-creators|title=Microsoft open sources its 3D emoji to let creators remix and customize them|last=Warren|first=Tom|date=10 August 2022|website=[[The Verge]]|access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref>