Don’t be silly, I’m not saying an open-sourced version of Windows. :D

I’m actually refering to Microsoft’s move to support Open Source software as they have extended an olive branch to the open-source community, calling for a sit-down to discuss how they can better work with the open-source world.

At a recent conference sponsored by the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) in Cambridge, Md., Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, called for bridge building between Microsoft, its competitors and the open-source community.

“We’re going to have to figure out how to build some bridges between the various parts of our industry,” he continued. “We’re going to have to figure out how we can bring the various parts of our industry closer together. Not necessarily in the sense of changing the way software is developed, but building bridges so that we all have the ability to collaborate with each other. And that will mean we will need some new rotations, I think, in how we work together, in how we license, in how we share technology or intellectual property rights with each other.”

Now Microsoft realizes the fast growing open source software community is another playground for them to tap in. Anyway, for the sake of every computer user, this bridge between Microsoft and open source software is no doubt a good one, as some of their secretly kept information will have to be shared to others like :-

“But, realistically, they could do some important things. One, open up their file formats. That is, fully document things like the Microsoft Word and Windows Media formats, and make a binding promise not to sue people who write software to interoperate with them,” he said. “Two, put down the patent weapon. Do as IBM has, and offer their software patents under royalty-free, paperwork-free license to open-source projects. Three, support open technical standards, rather than sabotaging them. Microsoft has a history of destructive meddling at organizations like the IETF and W3C, and of attempting to hijack standards like Kerberos by making them dependent on proprietary ‘extensions.’ Simply not doing this would be a huge improvement.”

[Source]

All in all, it’s a great news to hear that Microsoft is taking the first step into open source world. :)