Everything M$ does they do to somehow strengthen their position (Vista excepted). M$ making nice with Open Source and GPL? Somehow I don't think so, it is more likely that this is a tactical move in a larger overall strategy, I don't know what the moves in the game will be but I can surmise that in the end-game M$ wants to be the overall winner, not sharing with anyone.

When I first saw this article I thought Microsoft was winding back the clock and releasing their own version of MUMPS(Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System), more commonly know in the healthcare circles as "M".

A lot of 'M' coders must have thought all their christmas's had come at once when they saw the byline.

for a month. Get all their data moved to a different format and then, they have to pay or all that info is essentially useless. Kinda gives me that same feeling.

Or is Microsoft using the "Shotgun" approach to software? It seems hardly a week goes by lately that they're not announcing a new programming language, version/flavor of Windows, new features on existing products, new algorithm based on other's software, etc. It's like they're frantically throwing everything they can think of, hoping that something will stick to the wall. *

Here's a clue Ballmer, put your software engineers to work fixing your big three, Windows, Word, and Outlook, get them to work without sucking, THEN go chasing after everybody else's coat tails!

(Oh, while you're at it, could you at least do something about Xbox's "Red ring of Death"?)

* No chair jokes... Please!

The problem is that the OSP isn't really useful with regards to open sauce.

http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/osp-gpl.html

You can't write code using OSP covered items and honour the GPL.

Right so basically MS release M under SOA and using SQL at the PDC, adding RIA to XML to make a DSL and an XAML for their OSP hoping for another XML.

Why didn't you just say so?

Microsoft never change, by controlling data formats and programming languages you can control the market.

Ohh it's open source?, not under the GPL!, and why's it called 'M' (for Microsoft) no 'O' for Open?

Que Microsoft salesman "Of course it's an open standard, but Microsoft developed it therefore we are naturally have the best product's to use it, and we are of course heavily influential in it's direction, as the copyright holder (shark like smile)"

Also get's round those embarrassing questions that occurred with OOXML.

Microsoft are kind of like that creepy guy your parents told you never to take sweets from

"people have been lapping up Silverlight"

Really? Who?

Surely even the most screen bound programmer by now knows the Microserf motives in anything like this are selfish. Look at the problems with C# and the spotty yes we will then no we won't licensing that M$ pulled. They are trying to do anything to force closed source into open and then sue.

Making the Cliud OS Azure to meet Open source specs to lure in free programming tards.

Then they will have to sign that even though Azure cloud programming will be open source Microsoft will retain the rights to translate convey /convert said open source azure cloud program into a closed source program.

Easy way to chain the open source community and lock them in virtual DLL circle of hell.