Microsoft to Open Source Windows?

[Gordon in Toronto]

My Hope Springs Eternal buzzer went off when I saw this on a number of news sites.   

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/202679-would-microsoft-really-open-source-windows

. . . a blanket open source license for Windows on the client side seems like a pipe dream — even though a top Microsoft exec just said it on stage.

Anyone care to speculate on the possible impact on the future of OS/2, eComm and its antecedents?

[Martin Iturbide]

Maybe it will not happen, since it based on this single Microsoft executive phrase.

“It’s definitely possible,” Russinovich says. “It’s a new Microsoft.”

I love to speculate, but if this happens I don't think it will change the OS/2-eCS current position. IBM will hold on to OS/2's source code and there is not business case that can motivate IBM to share it.

I think it maybe worst for us, since it will make Windows a more desirable platform since it can be free of charge (if it is open sourced in a proper way without tricks).

Personally I don't MS will Open Source Windows at this time, but who knows. MS Executives may be trying to take long shots into the future to don't allow Windows to loose more space.

Regards

[Ian B Manners]

Not going to happen, ever.

If for no other reason as the same reason that OS/2 cant be open sourced, to many cooks in relation to the code.

[BigGoofyGuy]

From Forbes 04/05/2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/04/05/open-source-microsoft-windows/

ZDnet. 05/25/2012
http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-serious-about-open-source-10-proof-points/

I guess anything could happen. 

[Ian B Manners]

Hi BigGoofyGuy,

Those articles really don't say much, and to me suggest it would not be MS-Windows if it was open sourced but more likely a different O/S what ever it might be called, as it would need to be started from scratch.

Yes, it might have large chunks of current Windows code and API's but as with OS/2, much would need to be rebuild from the ground up, so a new O/S.
A lot of investment there, can Microsoft see its future in that direction ? Possibly but I don't think it's current work force is geared up for that in a major way.

Microsoft's current Open Sourced projects are islands unto themselves, with many easy to turn over to Open Source simply because they were easy to fence off legally and code wise compared to some of Microsoft's bigger projects.

The main reason IBM didn't, couldn't, and wouldn't open source OS/2 was because it was to hard, to expensive, and trying to figure out the mess left from some code owners that have vanished over the years (both personal and corporate), oh, and considering the amount of code copyrighted to Microsoft

It's just plain messy