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Inside Windows
Posted by
John Foley
January 30, 2006
For 20 years, the source code to Microsoft's Windows operating system has been a closely held secret. Prying eyes could lead to rogue Windows distributions, application incompatibilities, unauthorized use in other products--and better-informed competitors. Things changed last week as Microsoft, under pressure from the European Commission, disclosed plans to let competitors get their hands on a chunk of Windows and view it line by line. It's a surprising reversal to Bill Gates' long-standing guard-the-code strategy. It's also an offer that many in the industry--and perhaps the EC regulators it's meant to please--will find easy to refuse.
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Microsoft lawyer Brad Smith (left) lunches with former European Parliament President Pat Cox (right) and Friends of Europe Secretary General Giles Merritt, before dropping a surprise on EC regulators. |
So Microsoft coughed up its code. "If you want to understand these communications protocols, the source code is the ultimate documentation," Smith said at a press conference in Brussels. "It is the DNA of the Windows server operating system."
Strings Attached
But Microsoft's move isn't as bold as the company makes it out to be. Microsoft isn't opening up the entire Windows operating system, only the part that contains certain communications protocols. Companies that want to participate must pay for the privilege. And there are strings attached--a license that lets them view the code but not copy it. "We're not open-sourcing Windows," Smith noted.
Microsoft's restrictive "reference license" is designed for technology companies, not individual developers, so don't expect dozens of innovative products to spring from legions of Windows aficionados.
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