 |
| Microsoft admits that it was wrong to fight open source software |
Microsoft admits that enthusiasm for the open source problem was a mistake after it dominated desktop business and competed with Linux for many years.
In 2001, Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO, described Linux as "cancer that transcends everything it touches from an intellectual property perspective." Brad Smith admits that the company has errors in the open source.
"When enthusiasm for open source started around the turn of the century, Microsoft was on the wrong side of the story, and I could tell myself," Smith said at an event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Smith has worked in combat for more than 25 years at Microsoft with open source software, among whom Smith is one of the best Microsoft attorneys.
Smith added: "The good news is that if you live long enough, you need to know that you need to change." In fact, Microsoft has since changed by describing Linux as cancer. Today, the software giant makes the largest contribution to open source projects around the world and beats Facebook, Google, Apache and many other companies.
Over the past few years, Microsoft has gradually introduced open source code, including: the open source PowerShell command line interface, Visual Studio code, and even the original Edge JavaScript engine. Microsoft has also worked with Canonical to bring Ubuntu to Windows 10, it has acquired Xamarin to develop mobile applications, and has acquired the GitHub platform to manage the legendary developer code repository.
Microsoft also plans to add a full Linux kernel to Windows 10 update later this month and switch from Google for Edge to Chromium Browser Engine last year. Microsoft is now also working with the open source community to create PowerToys for Windows 10. The company's new open design concept might mean that Windows can do more in the open source field in the coming years.