Krishwords

I seriously don’t understand the tech journalists and bloggers. First, they don’t understand what opensource means in the first place. Second, they somehow seem to think that opensource needs Microsoft in one way or other. Opensource doesn’t need Microsoft to legitimize its existence. Opensource doesn’t need Microsoft to gain acceptance. Opensource approach and Microsoft’s proprietary approach are two different approaches to solving problems (People, try to understand diversity please). It is for the users to decide which approach suits better for them. There is absolutely no need for Microsoft to support opensource. If Microsoft wants to attach the opensource label with their company, all they have to do is to release their full software product under one of the OSI approved licenses and thatz all. Anything other than the release of their software product under one of the OSI approved licenses is just meaningless and it is not even worth talking. Fred Wilson talked about lack of standards in journabloggers. This pissed off Mike Arrington (Well, I can understand it because Fred has linked to one of the articles published in TC). Today I saw a post on Techcrunch (through techmeme discussion) titled Microsoft Sings a New Tune - Wants to play nice with open-source. This title brings into focus the standards which Fred Wilson was talking about. The TC blogger should have made some research before he came up with a title like this. It is pretty evident that he hasn’t put in any efforts to even understand the meaning of the term opensource. All Microsoft has done is to release some openAPIs and making certain documentation available to public. Knowing the secretive nature of Microsoft’s business practices, this is a Techmeme newsworthy item. I am not debating the importance of the news. But it has nothing to do with Opensource. We can quote Microsoft and Opensource in the same sentence ONLY IF Microsoft releases one of its complete products under the OSI supported licenses. As long as it doesn’t happen, using Microsoft and Opensource in the same sentence means nothing. The title, like the above Techcrunch post, is just childish and shows the author’s ignorance about the term opensource. I just hope journabloggers do take up Fred Wilson’s call and put in efforts to do some ground work before they report.