Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
From cloud computing and networking to gaming, Microsoft has steadily increased its engagement in open source projects and communities. The company is currently a leading open source contributor on GitHub and earlier this year announced several milestones that indicate the scope of its commitment to open source development."
| From: | Dan Brown <dbrown-AT-linuxfoundation.org> | |
| To: | lwn-AT-lwn.net | |
| Subject: | Microsoft Joins The Linux Foundation | |
| Date: | Wed, 16 Nov 2016 09:58:14 -0600 | |
| Message-ID: | <91fac1c05e1526e84e981a52126119a0@mail.gmail.com> |
Microsoft Fortifies Commitment to Open Source, Becomes Linux Foundation Platinum Member *SAN FRANCISCO – November 16, 2016* – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit advancing professional open source <https://www.linuxfoundation.org/> management for mass collaboration, today announced that Microsoft has joined the organization at a Platinum member during Microsoft’s Connect(); developer event in New York. From cloud computing and networking to gaming, Microsoft has steadily increased its engagement in open source projects and communities. The company is currently a leading open source contributor on GitHub and earlier this year announced several milestones that indicate the scope of its commitment to open source development. The company released the open source .NET Core 1.0; partnered with Canonical to bring Ubuntu to Windows 10; worked with FreeBSD to release an image for Azure; and after acquiring Xamarin, Microsoft open sourced its software development kit. In addition, Microsoft works with companies like Red Hat, SUSE and others to support their solutions in its products. "As a cloud platform company we aim to help developers achieve more using the platforms and languages they know,” said Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President, Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise Group. “The Linux Foundation is home not only to Linux, but many of the community’s most innovative open source projects. We are excited to join The Linux Foundation and partner with the community to help developers capitalize on the shift to intelligent cloud and mobile experiences.” Microsoft already contributes to several Linux Foundation projects, including Node.js Foundation, OpenDaylight, Open Container Initiative, R Consortium and Open API Initiative. John Gossman, Architect on the Microsoft Azure team, will join The Linux Foundation Board of Directors. “Microsoft has grown and matured in its use of and contributions to open source technology,” said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of The Linux Foundation. “The company has become an enthusiastic supporter of Linux and of open source and a very active member of many important projects. Membership is an important step for Microsoft, but also for the open source community at large, which stands to benefit from the company’s expanding range of contributions.” To view a full roster of Linux Foundation members, please visit http://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/members. *About The Linux Foundation* The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world's top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org. *The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page:** https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage* <https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage>*. * *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.*
Posted Nov 16, 2016 16:53 UTC (Wed)
by flewellyn (subscriber, #5047)
[Link] (4 responses)
If you'd told me 15 years ago that this would happen one day, I'd have called it absurd.
Posted Nov 18, 2016 2:24 UTC (Fri)
by coriordan (guest, #7544)
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"Their money comes, by a large majority, from a Who's Who of pro-software-patent lobbyists. They're only missing Microsoft." LF didn't exist 15 years ago. They launched in 2007. So I'm more right than wrong.
Posted Nov 18, 2016 11:43 UTC (Fri)
by walex (subscriber, #69836)
[Link] (2 responses)
Also, quite accurately, Bill Gates during the antitrust proceedings said that he could have taken or take any place at the table, be it UNIX, Java, etc., and still have Microsoft be a very successful software business.
His argument was that Microsoft was successful because he/they were good at doing business rather than MS-Windows being an accidental monopoly, and the people selling other platforms were just not very good at business, rather than victims of the MS-Windows monopoly.
I can quite agree that Microsoft created the MS-Windows (and MS-Office) monopoly by being better at business than their competitors, who were often dummies, but that Microsoft "earned" their monopoly with their cunning still does not make it legitimate or in the public interest.
Posted Nov 18, 2016 19:11 UTC (Fri)
by anselm (subscriber, #2796)
[Link] (1 responses)
Microsoft is “good at doing business” in the same way that Donald Trump is “smart” for not paying income taxes – they were both exploiting loopholes that were legally acceptable but firmly inside the no-man's land on the border of sleazeball country.
Posted Nov 18, 2016 22:21 UTC (Fri)
by Wol (subscriber, #4433)
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For example, why did pretty much EVERY Windows update in the WFWG/95 era break WordPerfect?
And read the trial details on Groklaw about Netscape and WordPerfect ...
Cheers,
Posted Nov 16, 2016 17:06 UTC (Wed)
by jg (guest, #17537)
[Link] (2 responses)
Posted Nov 16, 2016 17:31 UTC (Wed)
by tykeal (guest, #91283)
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Posted Nov 16, 2016 17:31 UTC (Wed)
by peter-b (subscriber, #66996)
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The omens portend that these are truly the end times!
Posted Nov 16, 2016 17:46 UTC (Wed)
by flussence (guest, #85566)
[Link] (3 responses)
Posted Nov 17, 2016 8:38 UTC (Thu)
by oldtomas (guest, #72579)
[Link] (2 responses)
Might make some dent if we bring to bear the full weight of the Business Software Alliance.
Leaving sarcasm mode: has anyone the impression that the Linux Foundation is becoming more and more an industry association, with all the well-known downsides those have?
Can't we just have nice things?
Posted Nov 17, 2016 15:41 UTC (Thu)
by kpfleming (subscriber, #23250)
[Link] (1 responses)
Posted Nov 18, 2016 8:28 UTC (Fri)
by oldtomas (guest, #72579)
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Yes, yes. Legally (de jure) it is.
> Always has been.
But not at heart (de corde). It's as if you said "the GPL is a license". It is, and it still... is different.
Gradually, LF has resembled more and more those despicable auto industry associations brib^H^H^H^H lobbying their way into state administrations. Or the BSA. Or all those *IAAs we like to love.
Posted Nov 16, 2016 21:04 UTC (Wed)
by Felix.Braun (guest, #3032)
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Posted Nov 16, 2016 21:52 UTC (Wed)
by RamiRosen (guest, #37330)
[Link] (1 responses)
Rami Rosen
Posted Nov 17, 2016 11:41 UTC (Thu)
by chirlu (guest, #89906)
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Posted Nov 17, 2016 7:31 UTC (Thu)
by zoobab (guest, #9945)
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When does Microsoft refunds all the money they stole from Android manufacturers?
Posted Nov 17, 2016 9:04 UTC (Thu)
by sbakker (subscriber, #58443)
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What's next? Microsoft joins The Document Foundation? Will they finally open up those FAT patents? (A man hopes, but a man does not hold his breath.)
Posted Nov 17, 2016 20:43 UTC (Thu)
by Nemo_bis (guest, #88187)
[Link] (2 responses)
I've not checked whether there are other changes. It also looks like there isn't any real way to make sure that a platinum member respects the open source ethos or even Linux itself.
Posted Nov 18, 2016 3:05 UTC (Fri)
by mtaht (subscriber, #11087)
[Link] (1 responses)
Posted Nov 18, 2016 16:58 UTC (Fri)
by JFlorian (guest, #49650)
[Link]
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation, as foretold by coriordan
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Wol
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
John Gossman, Architect on the Microsoft Azure team, will join The Linux
Foundation Board of Directors.
Does that mean that Linus and Greg and the other Linux-Luminaries now work for Microsoft (at least partially?) That is ... unexpected.
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation
Bylaws changed just for Microsoft
Bylaws changed just for Microsoft
Bylaws changed just for Microsoft