On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 6:25 AM, Roy <[email protected]> wrote: > I don't usually post news stories here especially about competing OSes, but > this one caught my > eye: http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/News/Microsoft-to-Develop-own-Open-Source-Platform > Basically MS is starting to develop its own package manager as an open > source project. I also noted that they are using > Launchpad. https://launchpad.net/coapp/ > I wonder where this is headed. It is an interesting twist that Microsoft is > using Launchpad and that they are embracing to some degree the Linux model > for package management. Could they also be looking at Linux in other ways? > Roy
Microsoft has for a long time lacked a good way of offering software updates. Windows Update updates the core OS, true, but it has never extended to other bits of software. You can upgrade to "Microsoft Update" which can update Office, Defender, and other specific Microsoft-brand products (through the Windows Update system), but never has anything else been updateable through it. Third party vendors have always had to run their own update servers and build their own custom update services (or license someone else's). I think this is ultimately a move to try and create a apt-get (or yum, or portage, or what have you) -like system for Microsoft to offer vendors as an update solution. Microsoft has already built some of the machinery for this in their BITS updating solution, a nifty tool that can inspect files and upgrade/repair them to versions present on a remote server. This is a very specific API though, and isn't too prevalent (I've seen it used by one vendor, CCP; there could be others, I just haven't seen them). I would imagine that they'll plug BITS into this as a way for vendors to set up their own update mirrors. I suppose they finally got tired of people asking to piggy-back off of the Windows Update system for software upgrades. Microsoft BITS: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa362708(VS.85).aspx BITS is a closed-API, so if they GPL CoAPP or whatever it is they'll have to count on the system library exception (BITS is bundled with Windows 7 by default now, so that will probably qualify it as a system library). See section 6 of the GPL version 3. While this explicitly states that system libraries aren't required for distribution with the "Corresponding Source," I would imagine that would also exclude system libraries from the GPL-compliance requirement. (The strong prerogative of the GPL to force all related code and derivative works to be open-source in perpetuity founds much of my disdain for the GPL, for those detecting a trend of anti-GPL talk from me). -- Registered Linux Addict #431495 For Faith and Family! | John 3:16! http://www.fsdev.net/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Linux Users Group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit our group at http://groups.google.com/group/linuxusersgroup
