Windows CE goes open source: Sign of failure or anticipation?
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In the close source world, there’s a good indicator to know when a software or operating system is failing. It goes open source. Some previous examples: Web browser Netscape became Mozilla suite, now Firefox and Thunderbird. Eudora, once an ad-supported standalone email reader, now relies on Mozilla Thunderbird engine. AOL instant messenger too, went open source back in March 2006.
The last one to be opened: The Windows CE core system itself.
Windows CE usually powers smartphones, Pocket PC and portable devices and is suitable for IM clients, like Skype or Windows Live Messenger. Microsoft is said to open the whole source code. But Microsoft’s approach is still unclear. It claims to embrace the BSD license, but is reluctant to submit its license for approval by the Open Source Initiative as an open-source license.
The company also cheers up by providing documentation, assisting developers with execution tracing during debugging, letting users share their code. All of this besides the 100% code. But in the same time, according to Linux Devices, it plans to “offer other portions of the overall Windows CE 6.0 operating system under several more restrictive ‘Premium’ licenses”.
Microsoft still remains the same. Coming after everyone else, and setting their own standards.
Nov 2, 2006 | By Nuno
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