Microsoft could be heading in the direction of an open source Windows platform, according to some of the words shared by company engineer Mark Russinovich. While that has primarily been the stuff of dreams for developers and enthusiasts of Microsoft as a whole – it’s entirely possible, according to him, that Microsoft takes Windows operating system open source down the road.
Whenever this conversation has been engaged in the past, it has always hinged on Microsoft’s ability to continue making money. However, as the company has recently proven, it isn’t all about making money off of their software in 2015. Instead, it’s about delivering a more complete and more diverse product – as Microsoft learned the hard way.
Russinovich said “it’s a new Microsoft,” and even added that “it’s definitely possible,” that users could eventually see Windows go open source. However, that isn’t something that will likely happen this year, or next, or the year after that even. For many, the acknowledgement that it would be something that the company would consider was definitely enough.
He also pointed out that there are many products that operate under the Microsoft umbrella that are currently “open source.” Which is only to say that the code is made public. In making the code public, developers can then work with the code and make it there own, or integrate additional software even more specifically. There are only a couple closed source platforms out there in terms of operating systems. One of them is Windows and the other is Apple’s OS X.
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Microsoft’s spokespeople were quick to quell the notion that Windows might be coming open source sooner than later. In fact, they dispelled any hope of the operating system actually going open source at all, at least for the time being. However, it was good to hear for developers and enthusiasts alike. Those who want to see a more integrated digital world – love hearing the words open source, because it takes away a lot of the control that the software developer actually has on the product.
