Microsoft: 'We're bringing value to open source'

Microsoft's love-hate relationship with open source software can be epitomised by recent efforts to enhance interoperability and lure developers to Windows.

In December, the software giant introduced a pilot programme called NXT to make it easier for independent software vendors (ISVs) with non-Microsoft technologies, including Linux and Unix developers, to tailor their products to the Microsoft operating system.

Run by Microsoft's partners, the NXT programme offers software development support, technical briefings, testing and marketing campaign-funding to these software makers. A representative of the software behemoth said the programme is still in the pilot stage.

Bill Hilf, a platform strategy technology manager at Microsoft, insisted there is no conflict between the goals of the company's open source lab and the NXT programme. Hilf runs the lab, which tries to marry open source software with Microsoft products.

Hilf told silicon.com sister site ZDNet Asia in a phone interview: "I won't call the NXT programme contradictory to the Linux interoperability lab, because it only targets ISVs who are looking to expand their offerings beyond the Linux and Unix platforms."

The interoperability lab focuses on getting products from open source software makers, such as JBoss, to work on the Microsoft platform, he said. "For example, we often collaborate with JBoss but, in certain areas, we might compete with them. It's competition and co-operation," Hilf explained.

He said: "Over time, as you see the open source marketplace maturing and becoming more commercial, I think you'll see more of that kind of dynamic. It's not something that's unique to Microsoft." Hilf added that IBM and Oracle also compete and at the same time co-operate with open source vendors.

To give the work of Microsoft's interoperability lab greater visibility in the open source community, it launched a website called Port 25 last month at LinuxWorld in Boston.

Hilf said: "As we do research and analysis in our lab, we're finding that more and more people are pretty interested in how we get different systems working together."

But the initiative has drawn criticism from some quarters of the open source community, judging from the responses posted on Port 25 blogs.

One reader wrote: "I fail to understand how Microsoft can help the open source community more than [open source] can help itself."

The reader added: "Microsoft never gets involved to help others; they get involved to help themselves. We have to satisfy ourselves knowing that they wasted all this time and money on this lab and paying these fine employees."

Hilf has taken reactions from the open source community in his stride. "It's really OK to be sceptical," he said. "Although there were a few loud individuals who were sceptical - and sometimes caustic - such conversations have tapered off as people start to realise that what we're doing provides value to the [open source] community."

Meanwhile, as part of its shared source efforts, Microsoft has set up a new online repository for collaborative code-writing projects. The software maker will use the site for its own efforts being developed under Shared Source licences. Developers who start projects on CodePlex can use any licence they feel fits their project the best but will "have access to and be encouraged to use the new Shared Source licences," Microsoft said.

CNET News.com's Ina Fried contributed to this report

Aaron Tan writes for ZDNet Asia