FireFox and Longhorn: Meant For Each Other? http://developers.slashdot.org/developers/04/05/08/1049218.shtml?tid=126&tid=154&tid=185&tid=190&tid=201&tid=95
Because Microsoft is making an attempt to _seem_ polite and friendly these days. It's realized that bad PR is PR, but it's negative and sets people against you. Too much bad PR and people will stop believing what you say, merely because you said it. And that would impact quite heavily on the bottom line. So by opening up the source without restriction, they would be not only making interesting noises, they would be backing them up with action. Wesley Parish On Sun, 09 May 2004 00:52, you wrote: > On Sat, 08 May 2004 22:40, you wrote: > > When is Microsoft going to release the full, non-encumbered specs for > > WinML, their Office2003 file specification, for the purpose of > > compatibility with OpenOffice.org and AbiWord? > > > > Has Microsoft ever considered the brownie points it might garner by > > releasing under the MIT/X11 license, the Microsoft-owned source code to > > Win NT 4.0, Win95, and Office97? > > > > Is Microsoft going to license its patents that directly affect Mono and > > Samba, on the same basis as IBM with Linux? Ie, blanket coverage. > > Good questions. I have one for you - why would MS do any of the above? > All ethics and ideologies aside - if you were an MS shareholder, would you > want them to do any of the above? Brownie points do not always yeild > profit, short term or long term. > > Yuri -- Wesley Parish * * * Clinersterton beademung - in all of love. RIP James Blish * * * Mau e ki, "He aha te mea nui?" You ask, "What is the most important thing?" Maku e ki, "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata." I reply, "It is people, it is people, it is people."
