Microsoft Goes Open Source?

In a move drawn straight from a geek's worst nightmare, Microsoft has been formally inducted into the Open Source community.

The Open Source Initiative, the body tasked with safeguarding the Open Source community, initiated the Empire with the formal acceptance of Microsoft's two “Shared Source” licenses, the Microsoft Public License and the Microsoft Reciprocal License.

According to a blog post by Michael Tiemann, the OSI's chief shepherd, the Initiative had no choice but to accept the licenses. “Microsoft came ... and submitted their licenses according to the published policies and procedures. [They] didn't ask for special treatment, and didn't receive any.”

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