By Sarah Left, 8 April 1999 15:49
NEWS Microsoft president, Steve Ballmer has hinted that the software giant may release some of its Windows 2000 source code to developers. Speaking at the Windows Hardware and Engineering conference in Los Angeles, Ballmer said the firm is considering licensing its operating system (OS) code in response to the popularity of open source OS, Linux. Ballmer admitted that Microsoft is still debating what the open source movement will mean for the firm. He said: "I don't think the great attraction to Linux is the fact that it's free. The thing I think we're trying to really understand and decide what to do about is this notion of open source. There is a level of flexibility, or at least a level of comfort that people have when they have the source code 'just in case'. Most CIOs (chief information officers) I talk to don't actually want their people to touch the source." Ballmer would not say what code would might be made available, or set out a timetable for the move. Gary Cooper, senior researcher with the Butler Group, said the flirtation with open source is tied up with Microsoft's recent reorganisation. "I think they probably will open up the code. When you let a rabbit out of the hat like that, it's the kind of thing that makes developers sit up and take notice. To go back on it could be quite damaging. It would be the first sign that they're reneging on the promises of their reorganisation, where they said they'll be more customer-centric."
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