[chat] The latest Microsoft attack

[Matthew Palmer <mjp16@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In what has become somewhat of a habit, Microsoft's latest attack on the
world of Open Source.  Now we have to choose between running Linux or
running Windows.  It might scare some, but I know which side of the fence
I'm going to eat my grass from.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/zd/20010702/tc/ms_attacks_open_source_1.html

Highlights:

Thou shalt not use this software with the GPL or any other 'potentially
viral' licences (like Perl).

"With a GPL, additions to the source code that are published or distributed
must be made available for free to any interested third party."

"Microsoft is moving in the same direction as open source code advocates,
but wishes to continue to protect its intellectual property from commercial
exploitation by others. [... T]he company's Shared Source initiative goes
so far as to allow developers to examine the example of C# and CLI code, and
then build similar structures on the platforms of their choice."  As long as
you choose a platform that isn't licenced under the GPL...

Anyone want to volunteer to develop a GPLed C#-like language?  IANAL, but
you can't copyright a language definition, only the documents which define
the language.  So, for instance, K&R is a copyright work, so I can't
distribute that, but a program which implements that which is defined in the
book isn't covered by the same copyright...


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Matthew Palmer
mjp16@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx