Microsoft has agreed that it was wrong in opposing open source and Linux earlier. Microsoft President, Brad Smith said that “Microsoft was on the wrong side of history when open source exploded at the beginning of the century.”
Microsoft admits it was wrong about Linux
Microsoft has openly opposed open-source software in the past, describing it as harmful to the software industry. Apparently, Linux has always been under criticism from the tech giant for its open-source availability.
Microsoft’s Dislike for Linux is famous
Past CEO Steve Balmer even cited and compared Linux to Cancer, in the early 2000s. His rather famous quote is still talked about. He mentioned that Linux was like “cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.”
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Opensource a threat to Windows
Microsoft seemingly loathed Linux and opensource because a free of cost and open source platform like Linux would pose a threat to its Windows Operating system.
Though with changing times, Microsoft has itself incorporated open source technologies in its offerings. As a matter of fact, the tech giant is now serving as the most significant collaborator and patron of open source projects.
Visual Studio Code and many other tools from the company are now open-sourced.
Microsoft also embraced Linux and is now ready to ship Linux Kernel in Windows 10, which is included in its Windows Subsystem for Linux. Also, Ubuntu, Linux distributions are now present in Microsoft Store to download from Windows 10.
Microsoft’s Change of Heart is Welcomed
Experts see Microsoft’s changed approach as a welcome sign for the technology world. The transformed policy of the company towards Linux and opensource is going to open new avenues.
Brad Smith admits the company’s mistake and learns to change
Brad Smith accepted the company’s mistake in judging opensource and Linux. He said in an interview with MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, that “The good news is that, if life is long enough, you can learn… that you need to change.”
Since Steve Ballmer left the organization, the company is collaborating and incorporating open source more prominently.