10.17.08

Microsoft Tries Squeezing the ‘L’ Out of LAMP Stacks

Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Servers, Windows at 1:21 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Awareness of the strategy enables fast response

AS WE showed before [1, 2, 3], SpikeSource has become a Microsoft ally that assists the movement of Free software programs over to the Windows platform. It’s actually supported by both Microsoft and Intel, which makes one wonder about Intel’s attitude towards Free software and GNU/Linux in particular. The collusions and the assault on OLPC don’t help.

Anyway, there is no mentioning of SpikeSource in the following news, but there are signs of the same strategy against GNU/Linux. Microsoft is trying to displace the “L” in LAMP and it’s a development we may wish to refer to in the future, so here are 3 articles about it:

1. Microsoft introduces installers for open-source apps

If you can’t beat them, join them, and make certain that people notice. Microsoft has introduced an installer that streamlines installations of free components from its Web application platform, and another to guide its customers in the installation of popular .NET and PHP open-source applications that are compatible with Windows.

2. Microsoft, OpenLogic Further Open-Source Efforts

Microsoft and OpenLogic both made moves Oct. 15 to further their open-source initiatives, with Microsoft releasing new software for Web developers and OpenLogic announcing new professional services to help companies increase their usage of open-source software.

Microsoft delivered the beta of a download manager and packaged open-source applications to make it easier for Web developers to install Web products and tools for building next-generation Web applications. The new software from Microsoft includes Web PI (Web Platform Installer), a free download manager that simplifies the installation of Microsoft’s development tools, from .NET Framework 3.5 to ASP.NET to Silverlight, for building Web applications.

3. Microsoft Puts Weight Behind Open Source Projects With Web Platform Installer

The platform is capable of running both ASP and PHP-based applications, and it consists of a suite of tools including Visual Web Developer for creating websites, Microsoft SQL Server for administering databases, and IIS7 for serving webpages. As such, the bundling of these open source packages is a rather clever way for Microsoft to promote the use of its proprietary server software over popular open source alternatives such as Apache and MySQL. Ironic, yes, but selective promotion of open source is better than none at all.

There is also an opinion about it here. █

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A Single Comment

amd-linux said,

October 17, 2008 at 2:56 pm

To me, this all looks as if they are getting more and more desperate.

Installing FOSS on Windows, the intensive use of money, be it legal or not so legal, giving Win XP away for free (here in Germany, they obviously even pay now for pre-installed XP netbooks, covered with some marketing subsidies) – that all speaks the same language:

Their main business (selling standard software) is drowning – like the internet was the death for proprietary plattforms such as AOL, Compuserve, MSN, FOSS and open formats will be the future infrastructure of computing.

And in opposite to IBM in the 80s, this affects their whole business model. Since they know this, they try to delay the unavoidable as long as possible.

The OS and standard applications will be a commodity as they are already becoming one on mobile devices. Like the OS for a washing machine – Joe Plumber just does not care, as long as the laundry is ok…..

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