Today Linux desktop manufacturer Xandros acquired Linspire for an undisclosed amount. Xandros will also be keeping existing engineering, support, and key sales employees and long-time Linspire employee and CEO Larry Kettler will be joining the Xandros executive team as the VP of Business Development. While Xandros didn’t mention their total employee numbers Xandros CEO Andreas Typaldos claims Xandros to be the third largest Linux company in the world after the acquisition. Former Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony has some harsh criticism of the deal on his blog.

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Technorati Tags: acquisition, Linspire, Linux Desktop, Microsoft, Open Source, Scalix, Xandros

Apparently Balmer’s visit to Budapest Corvinus University in Hungary today wasn’t well received. A man with “Microsoft Corruption” written across his back decided to egg Steve Balmer during a speach. Balmer stated this was the first time it’s happened to him professionally. I wonder if it will be the last.

The sad thing is that while the protester might have had a legitimate gripe nothing makes you look crazier than egging a guy while wearing a shirt with a handwritten statement across your back.

Technorati Tags: Egging, Microsoft, Steve Balmer

It seems that open source maven, Matt Asay along with well-known Microsoft blogger Mary Jo Foley have come to the conclusion that Microsoft doesn’t need open source. Asay contends that Microsoft’s open source activity has more to do with regulators than best practices and user collaboration.

Microsoft’s open-source charade is not about customers. It’s about regulators. Until Microsoft can convince U.S. and European regulators that its market power is not as bad as it once was, the company will need to hide behind expressions of openness.

Hence, Microsoft “opens” up its protocols (i.e., lets everyone read but not touch…without forking over cash). It inks “open” interoperability agreements with Novell and others, which actually do nothing more than bind otherwise open-source success to Microsoft’s proprietary technology. Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith acknowledges the shift, or lack thereof:

“It is (a change in philosophy) in some significant ways and yet it has also other aspects that are a continuation and we’re probably thinking a little bit about both pieces,” Smith said, explaining Microsoft’s twin thrusts of promoting intellectual property rights by encouraging interoperability among various software platforms.Business as usual. Just under the openness guise.

I suspect that’s a reasonable assumption. Though the folks working in open source software from Microsoft like Sam Ramji seem pretty sincere. With Bill Gates retiring and Microsoft’s initiatives on open source wouldn’t it be a sardonic turn of events for open source spread like a virus inside the walls of Redmond (especially since that’s how detractors likes to describe open source software).

There are a number of ventures run by ex-Microsofties who are seeing success. Maybe the the question real question is, “How far does the apple fall from the tree?”

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Technorati Tags: Black Duck Softwware, Deki Wiki, Koders, Microsoft, MindTouch, Open Search, Open Source, sharepoint

When I think of open source software Microsoft is rarely the first word that comes to mind. Actually it’s not even on of the first ten words. However, there are probably more Microsoft Windows users using open source software than on any other operating system. Despite this Microsoft’s stance on open source is changing evidenced by recent initiatives into open source software development.

Today Aras a provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software for companies that develop products announced the release if Version 9 of the Aras Innovator® suite. Version 9 delivers the first model-based service-oriented architecture (SOA) for PLM and includes single-instance multi-language capabilities and support for the latest Microsoft platform products; Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. Aras is the first Microsoft Gold Partner to offer an open source solution.

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Technorati Tags: Aras, Business Process Management, Innovator, Microsoft, Microsoft Public License, Open Source, Windows

Bill Gates steps down as the Chairman of Microsoft on July 1st to transition to full time philanthropic efforts with the Gates Foundation. However, I wonder how effective Bill will be other than writing checks. You see Bill’s never played well with others.

• Microsoft v. United States
  
• Microsoft v. AOL (Netscape)
• Microsoft v. Apple
• Microsoft v. Sun

At a speech on Monday for the Institute of Systems Biology he gave a speech followed by a Q&A session he reportedly answered one poor chap’s questions on whether open source methodologies would be used in his research.

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Technorati Tags: Bill Gates, Microsoft, OLPC, Open Source