Microsoft License for Mobile Internet Toolkit Prohibits Interoperation with Open Source Products
CNET News.com joins the parade of news sites reporting on Microsoft's attempt to prohibit use of Open Source Software in connection with the latest beta version of its Mobile Internet Toolkit.
In the agreement, they refer to software licensed under the GPL, the Artistic Licenses, and several other license types as "viral" software (as opposed to merely "open"). This is an amazing development because it shows the extent to which Microsoft will attempt to impose its world view on independent developers and their own customers. This sort of tactic sounds like the kind of thing that would have been tried by IBM or Digital Equipment prior to the widespread adoption of the PC-- sort of a "let's try to suffocate the baby in the cradle" approach.
Does Microsoft really think that it can act with impugnity, now that the Clinton administration has left office?