Tech News: Microsoft goes Open Source

Microsoft has always been a sort of "closed door" when it comes to it's programs and coding.

Historically the company has closely guarded it's software code so products such as Office and Windows can't be copied.

So when the Windows giant announced last week the creation of the wholly owned unit, "Microsoft Open Technologies Inc." it came to a surprise for the tech industry and some scratching thier heads. "Huh?...Microsoft and open source?"

The idea is for MS to more quickly release such programs and ensure existing Microsoft products are compatible with open-source software. And it makes sense.

With stiff competition from companies which have produced fine open source software such as Google (Android), Mozilla (FireFox), and Linux it was inevitable that Microsoft had to acknowledge open-source in a real way.

There's a great article about the subject at the Wall Street Journal here.