Gates says 'open' a favorite word

[Jucato]

Imagine waking up to find this in my RSS reader:

http://news.com.com/2061-10805_3-6052013.html?part=rss&tag=6052013&subj=news

Gates noted that the new group, to be known as the Open XML Formats Developer Group brings together three of his favorite words--"open," "XML," and "developer."

It's almost like what Microsoft's Bill Hilf said before:

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/0/D01724835A4599D1CC25712D001259C2?OpenDocument

Hilf is director of Microsoft’s platform strategy applications group, the technical team that works with Linux and other open source initiatives. “We’ve been in open source software for years”, he said, over an audio-conference link aided by slides.

Doesn't that just make your day? :D

Oh, and for those who are following the ODF vs OpenXML battle for standards recognition, here's a scoop from Groklaw:

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060321163230297


I wonder if maybe Microsoft is worried it's still not fast enough to beat ODF, because the company has just joined the group in the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) that decides if ODF is ready to move forward in the ISO process.

Imagine that? And this is after, time and agian, MS has refused to cooperate with ODF in anyway.

Microsoft has stepped up from its usual FUD tactics, to a more subtle, but potentially more dangerous, EEE strategy.

Be afraid... be very, very afraid. :D

[taurus]

How about what do you get when you "open" Windows?

A load of CRAP!!! :twisted:

[MButterman]

Even better news, Vista is delayed (yet again!!) until January 2007. Who says we don't have enough time to polish dapper? :D

MButterman

[s|k]

This reminds me of Adobe's 'OpenType' which isn't open at all. They're stealing our language. :(

[briancurtin]

bill gates has been a fan of open source for a while.

[Jucato]

They're stealing our language. :(

Which is exactly what EEE does.
Embrace - act as if you are/have always been an advocate of open source.
Extend - release your own "open" products/standards
Extinguish - when people have accepted and migrated to this new "openness", lock them in again and destroy your competitors.

If OASIS, FSF, and OSI do not keep their eyes open and be alert, MS is going to do again what it does best. And before we know it... well, I can't even dare to imagine. :D

EDIT: @briancurtin: huh?

[briancurtin]

EDIT: @briancurtin: huh?
bill gates has been a fan of open source for a while. that in itself is not news.

ballmer hates open source on the other hand

[Zeroangel]

Burglars are fans of open houses.

[endersshadow]

bill gates has been a fan of open source for a while. that in itself is not news.

ballmer hates open source on the other hand

Yep, this is very true. Remember, Gates and Allen were the guys behind the software that Microsoft built its empire on. Ballmer was brought in from P&G and is very, very opposed to OSS. Gates is intrigued by it and loves the fact that developers are coming together to make better products.

But, I suppose the thought that Gates is evil is, in itself, FUD, and quite ironic to happen in this thread, where those celebrate the seeming stoppage of FUD from Microsoft is quite ironic.

[Buffalo Soldier]

Even better news, Vista is delayed (yet again!!) until January 2007. Who says we don't have enough time to polish dapper? :D

MButtermanPerhaps it's a trick. Vista is ready to be deployed soon. They just said it's delayed so that we can take our own sweet time... and the come August 2006... they ambush us with the release of Vista with the tagline "Closed-sourced Vista completes sooner than expected"

[Jucato]

I'm not saying Gates is evil. I'm just saying that he better be consistent.

But I never considered Bill as a fan of open source before. Steve Ballmer has hated OSS, and Bill has never reproached him for saying things against OSS. In one of my pre-law classes before, I remember that the professor said that the statement of the subordinate is presumed to be the statement of the superior (because the subordinate should not be doing anything publicly that the superior does not know).

Btw, was Bill the one who said that the GPL was a virus, or was it Ballmer? Anyway, one can attack the GPL and at the same time be an OSS advocate, right?

There's one thing that lingers in my mind though. I just finished watching Revolution OS a few days ago. It was narrated there how Bill Gates, in one of his letters to the organization he belonged to (Hobbyist something), had helped initiate the process that would lead to the whole software patent/copyright/IP issues, and that he was clearly against open source (at that time).

Well, I just hope Gates can keep the act together. One day their bashing OSS/FSF, another their champions of it. One day he says one of his favorite words is "open", another day his subordinates do exactly the opposite. Maybe Microsoft has a case of schizophrenia?

[Luggy]

I've heard that Microsoft has an Open Source R&D team (or some other such thing) but have they released the source code to anything?

[nalmeth]

I just finished watching Revolution OS a few days ago. It was narrated there how Bill Gates, in one of his letters to the organization he belonged to (Hobbyist something), had helped initiate the process that would lead to the whole software patent/copyright/IP issues, and that he was clearly against open source (at that time).
I remember this as well. He was not an advocate to say the least.

[K.Mandla]

How could he be against open source? Some of his best ideas come from the open source community ... and Apple.

I hear ten years from now, you'll be able to spin the Windows desktop like a cube! Wow. That'll be so cool.

[Jucato]

Oh, about a few months ago, I wanted to spin my computer like a cube, and throw it out too. But then I discovered Linux, and it saved my computer from going out the window. :D

Microsoft has an Open Source R&D lab, right? Does it mean they're advocates of the FLOSS movement? Ever heard of the saying "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer"? Was MS notorious for stealing code/ideas from others and rebranding them as their own? What easier way to do that by looking into code that's already open?

These are just the questions that run into my mind. I don't love to hate MS/Windows. It's just hard to trust them in some ways, partly because of their history, and partly because of their actions/words. Would you trust a thief just because he says he advocates the latest security measures?

But people can change. I hope Microsoft will, too. For the better, that is. :D

[3rdalbum]

This reminds me of Adobe's 'OpenType' which isn't open at all. They're stealing our language. :(

What about "Open GL" and "Open Firmware"?

I thought what Bill Gates meant was "Open" as in "Can be extended".

It's funny that XML was one of Bill Gates' favourite words: It's one of my least favourite.

[Zeroangel]

Oh, about a few months ago, I wanted to spin my computer like a cube, and throw it out too. But then I discovered Linux, and it saved my computer from going out the window. :D

Microsoft has an Open Source R&D lab, right? Does it mean they're advocates of the FLOSS movement? Ever heard of the saying "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer"? Was MS notorious for stealing code/ideas from others and rebranding them as their own? What easier way to do that by looking into code that's already open?

These are just the questions that run into my mind. I don't love to hate MS/Windows. It's just hard to trust them in some ways, partly because of their history, and partly because of their actions/words. Would you trust a thief just because he says he advocates the latest security measures?

But people can change. I hope Microsoft will, too. For the better, that is. :D
Right on, dude. I like your attitude.

[ComplexNumber]

mr gates is VERY much against open source. his relationship with open source is that of a parasite. his open source labs are merely there to investigate *nix systems to see what ideas he can learn from so that he can embrace(and extend) from them in order to make windows better.....nothing more.
he will say ANYTHING if he believes that windows can benefit directly or indirectly....even if it means pretending to be in favour of all things open and doing things to improve his PR and image.

[Jucato]

Found an interesting read through Linux.org. It's an interview with Bill Hilf, the man in charge with the Open Source Lab in MS. I'm not going to post my comments/thoughts so that you could read the article with no biases. You decide what to believe. :D

http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1871876320;fp;16;fpid;0