When Steve Ballmer compared Linux to a "malignant cancer" a few years back, the company's stance on open source was well-known, but things have changed. In an easy read at Wired magazine, Cade Metz chronicles Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) journey from denigrating Linux to donating code to open source projects. 

Recently, Microsoft contributed some improvements to the open source Samba project. Samba made it possible for Windows desktops to communicate with Linux file servers by rewriting Microsoft's Server Block Message protocol in open source--not something a company bent on keeping its proprietary code away from the open source community would normally be pleased about.

"A few years back, a patch submission from coders at Microsoft would have been amazing to the point of unthinkable, but the battles are mostly over and times have changed," said Christopher Hertel, who was instrumental in the Samba project. "We still disagree on some things such as the role of software patents in preventing the creation of innovative software; but Microsoft is now at the forefront of efforts to build a stronger community and improve interoperability in the SMB world."

As a mark of how much things have changed, most people did not take notice of who was behind the improvement, Hertel said.

In 2006, Microsoft named Sam Ramji the head of its open source software strategy, and that move initiated a gradual change at the company. Since then, it has hosted open source projects on its own website, and it backs Hadoop, which runs on Linux. The company plans to develop a version of Hadoop for Windows and then give the code to the open source community.

The gradual change hasn't been entirely unprodded, however. Microsoft's major antitrust lawsuits in the United State and Europe are seen as playing a significant role. As part of an agreement with the U.S. government, Microsoft had to reveal the code behind some of its protocols.

"Although they may not have seen it as something useful at the beginning, they probably realized as it was happening that it was an important thing to do and that it actually benefited them in the end," said Ron Schnell, general manager of the committee that oversaw Microsoft's consent decree with the government. "That could have easily encouraged them to open up more things to the world."

Microsoft is not exactly shouting its open source involvement from the rooftops, however. Wired was unable to get much enthusiasm out of the company for this feature. "When we contacted Microsoft about its contribution to Samba, it provided a brief statement indicating that the open source code was merely the work of a lone individual," writes Metz.

Some remain skeptical about Microsoft's strategy when it comes to the open source community, and they are quick to cite the software giant's patent battles with the likes of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).

For more, see:
- Cade Metz's article at Wired

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