An article yesterday on ZDNet argued that Microsoft might soften its stance towards open source, and may even write applications for its famous open source competitor, Linux.
A few years ago, I would have been more skeptical. Making product for Linux might help to popularize the alternative platform, thus cutting into Microsoft's own operating system revenue. From a simple cost-benefit analysis, the cost of writing for the fast-growing Linux operating system market, in terms of lost sales, outweighed the benefit of sales into the channel.
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