OSI Approves Microsoft Licenses

[Richard Bennett]

On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:13:00 +0200, Derek Broughton <news at pointerstop.ca>  
wrote:

>> IMHO, this s*cks
> Why?  I agree it's "freaky", since MS has been claiming open source will
> kill the industry, but I can't imagine any way that a proper open source
> licence for MS software can be a bad thing.

For instance, both MS and Apple have offered a free / cheap version of  
their OS for use on the OLPC laptops.
This would get them instant access to tens of millions of new users in  
developing regions, who would be likely to stick with the OS they learned  
on their OLPC device when they buy a new device.
However OLPC refused this, stating they only wanted opensource software on  
the device, to allow the end-user the chance to modify it.

One could see MS releasing cutback versions of their products under this  
new opensource license with the only purpose of preventing users from  
using Linux etc, and keeping users who would opt for opensource solutions  
inside the MS fold, so they would come back to purchase Ms software later.
Basically as a replacement for shareware software, where the OSI stamp of  
approval would give them access to projects like OLPC.


Richard