[Wyatt]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11018897/

Microsoft has caved into pressure from the EU and has announced its intention to license chunks of code from Windows XP to other software developers. Here's the question on my mind, though: Who would want it? Who would seriously want to license the XP source code? I can just see the development team meetings...

LEAD: Ok, where should we begin?
PROGRAMMER: Let's start with something so impossibly buggy that we can't possibly fix it in a cost-effective manner!
LEAD: Good idea. Somebody call Microsoft.

[scratt]

It's funny, when you look at it that way it's kind of bizarre that it's the dominant operating system.. (We all know the reasons why of course) But that does kind of shine a harsh beam of the light of reality on the whole issue...

And yes, who would want to delve into such a labyrinth of flawed code when they could probably spend the same time re-writing their own, or leveraging real Open Source stuff...

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by scratt And yes, who would want to delve into such a labyrinth of flawed code when they could probably spend the same time re-writing their own, or leveraging real Open Source stuff...

Exactly. And what do you think Microsoft is charging for this? I didn't notice an amount quoted in the article, but I guarantee it'll be no small fee.

[scratt]

I am not dissing a team of programmers I feel have started a noble enterprise here, but I think most in the know will know who I mean... What I mean is I get the same feeling when I see certain 'Game Developement Engines' for sale out there..

The price differential, and the level of suport offered is alarming for both, and not in a positive direction for either..

Then I see free Open Source efforts offered with more documentation than you can shake a large country at, and pretty much 24 / 7 support from 'enthusiasts'. The support in itself puts to shame the service offered by suppliers from all fields whom you pay *extra* for support...

Something is out of wack here!

[Wyatt]

I agree again, except on one front: at least with the game development engines, there's not a free/open alternative to things like Unreal Engine 3 or the Doom III engine. The sheer amount of time and energy that must go into that dictates that it almost has to be done commercially. In terms of operating systems, though, I feel that there is no reason to pay for the base that you're using. Hell, Apple didn't pay and they turned out something far better than XP using Darwin.