In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

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erkinalp
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In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by erkinalp »

What can we do if Microsoft ever decides to open source Windows 10 under GPL2/3?
-uses Ubuntu+GNOME 3 GNU/Linux
-likes Free (as in freedom) and Open Source Detergents
-favors open source of Windows 10 under GPL2
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Black_Fox
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by Black_Fox »

Well, obviously spend a weekend celebrating, then fork it :-D
hbelusca
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by hbelusca »

Well, it would not be under GPL but instead under some MS-LPL -like license...
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Konata
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by Konata »

Then ReactOS would greatly benefit from it. Mono didn't go anywhere when they opened .NET, Mono just took a lot of tips from the .NET source code and improved Mono a lot.
But yeah it would definitely be under a less restrictive license than GPL, Microsoft hates the GPL. They use their own MS-PL license.
erkinalp
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by erkinalp »

MS-PL and MS-RL are fine as long as they do not mix with GPL'd code.
-uses Ubuntu+GNOME 3 GNU/Linux
-likes Free (as in freedom) and Open Source Detergents
-favors open source of Windows 10 under GPL2
PurpleGurl
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by PurpleGurl »

If that happens, I think it would be wise to look at parts of Windows that we're having trouble with, but only for inspiration, and not inclusion.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by dizt3mp3r »

In the event that Father Christmas is found at the North Pole I will start to believe that MS might just release Windows as open source. Then I shall start worrying about it but not until.

Shall we have some other "what if" threads?

What if Nazi Germany had coded Windows in 1943? Would the licence have been more or less restrictive?
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Konata
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by Konata »

dizt3mp3r wrote:In the event that Father Christmas is found at the North Pole I will start to believe that MS might just release Windows as open source. Then I shall start worrying about it but not until.

Shall we have some other "what if" threads?

What if Nazi Germany had coded Windows in 1943? Would the licence have been more or less restrictive?
Have you seen how much MS has been opening lately? Sure, it's not gonna happen tomorrow, but Windows being opened is a legitimate possibility with where the new Microsoft is going. Just a few days ago they opened their Chakra JavaScript engine [src].
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by dizt3mp3r »

The web is a losing game to Microsoft and they know the rest of the world has IE/Edge beaten. Windows is a cash cow. It will never be released as open source. I will eat my hat and it is a big hat.
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
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Konata
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by Konata »

dizt3mp3r wrote:The web is a losing game to Microsoft and they know the rest of the world has IE/Edge beaten. Windows is a cash cow. It will never be released as open source. I will eat my hat and it is a big hat.
A browser that's been out less than a year is "beaten"?
Well okay, I'll just be keeping up with Microsoft as someone who actually understand how businesses work and you can continue to believe a product that's just come out is already dead (maybe like how Ballmer said the iPhone will never get anywhere).
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by dizt3mp3r »

The web has always been a losing game for Microsoft, you don't know that?
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
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Black_Fox
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by Black_Fox »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's rather Office that is a cash cow nowadays, not Windows (not with the free update policy).
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by dizt3mp3r »

You are correct, with Windows the main platform.
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PurpleGurl
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by PurpleGurl »

Come to think about it, it seems the industry is getting away from charging for an OS. The phone people give you a proprietary (or open source for that matter) OS free with the phone. So the software is intrinsic to the hardware. "We give you the operating system free, but it requires our hardware to run it," or, "We sell you the hardware with an embedded OS (at no extra charge)."

Then they are moving from the software as something you physically purchase model and moving more to services and subscriptions, and it wouldn't surprise me if they moved to the contract model -- "Sign up for 2 years and you only pay [this] a month, but you have to pay an early cancellation penalty if you quit before the contract expires." Come to think of it, that model is sort of used in the form of software clubs. You decide on your term and how much you are willing to pay a month, and if you decide to cancel early, you have to buy out your contract. That is how some lessors are when it comes to rental property. If you sign up to stay for a year and you terminate early, you may be liable for the unused months, perhaps unless you arrange for a new person they will approve to resume your term if they allow it.
Last edited by PurpleGurl on Sat Oct 06, 2018 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: In the event Microsoft decides to open source Windows

Post by dizt3mp3r »

I am sure that MS is moving toward that sort of model but not open source, not for Windows.
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
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