THE DAILY links have already contained news about a planned reform at the OSI, which is the organisation behind the Open Source brand. The OSI has always been reluctant to be intruded by Microsoft, which it tried to keep at arm's length. There is one blogger at the OSI who occasionally dares to say the truth about Microsoft's relationship with Open Source and here is his latest about "Microsoft Loves Open Source":
When I speak to folks at Microsoft all bad behavior is "some other part of Microsoft" that if we just ignore will eventually see the light. That seems like a bad strategy from our "good friends". If Microsoft sincerely loves open source, it is time for a corporate strategy. Let's make this simple:
* How about a "Patent Promise" similar but better than Red Hat's Patent Promise? Go one step further and extend it to all open source licenses. * How about inviting the Open Invention Network to join CPTN? That would make everyone more comfortable that it is a defensive consortium and not a scheme to crush open source. * How about changing the tone of the marketing message to "cooperative development" instead of "interoperability"?
Microsoft, I'd like to see this love as more than a cheesy marketing scheme. Show us the love!