What do the following statements mean?
Let me share my opinions on each of the above statements here.
Note: People are so confused with the terms free software, open source and freeware. If you are one such person, please read this post for clarity!
Microsoft to give Windows OS free to Indian Phone Manufacturers
Microsoft wanted some Indian phone manufacturers to make cheap Windows mobiles so that they can compete in low-end market. But who will be able to pay around Rs. 1,200 extra for every phone to get the license of the OS when a costless alternative is available? This is the reason Google made Android available for free of cost. As Android is free of cost, most phone manufacturers adapted it to their phones and now Android is the clear market leader. Now Goolgle is earning through ads, app purchases, by selling songs/books/movies etc.
Windows thought that the same tactic that worked on PCs of desktop era will also work on mobiles of smartphone era. But their market share was (and is) so pathetic that at one point they earned more from Android phones than Windows phones. Very few people are developing Windows phone apps. People in developing nations are buying cheaper alternatives. So they tried their best to push their OS to the world's second largest developing market with their Microsoft tax. But the Indian companies rejected Microsoft's offer until they were down on their knees and accepted to give the OS without licensing fee. The funniest part is, even Nokia can't get Windows for free. Why Microsoft did this? Are the Indian companies so clever to bargain and strike such deal? I think no! The Indian companies are the reality that every other company is going to end with. With increasing demand for higher hardware specs in a lower price range, sooner or later, companies should let go the unwanted load of paying for OS. So, it is much like Indian companies telling Microsoft what reality is and Microsoft accepting it without any other option left!
Microsoft to give Windows OS free for phones and small tablets
The previous happened by February/March 2014. As noted, all companies, no matter how big they are will follow the Indian manufacturers in opting for a free of cost operating system to cut cost and stay competitive in the market. So Microsoft can't tax every phone produced and expect their market share to grow or even sustain. It is just Microsoft realizing the truth again. But here is a catch. Microsoft will charge tablets with screens larger than 9 inches. So, it is much like, they will give the OS for free to smaller devices and increase their market share and bring more people to develop their apps, while on the other side, they will gradually start charging license fee. Once a market monopoly is attained (that will never happen!), they will charge the fee in full swing and from everyone. Remember, they are giving it for free of cost, but the source is still closed. So for everything like updates/upgrades/bug-fixes/optimization/customization etc, the companies need to depend upon Microsoft as the code is not open.
Microsoft to give Windows OS free for laptop OEMs
Now Microsoft is also considering a free of cost version of Windows for laptops so that laptop manufacturers can bundle them without paying the fee. Again, this is a honey trap to trick many users to buy laptops running crippled version of Windows. If they want a better version, they should pay. They may restrict the number of applications that can run at same time.They may not provide options to do critical administrative tasks in Control Panel etc. And if a user wants that, Microsoft will ask them to pay for a professional or ultimate edition.
Microsoft to give Windows OS for "Internet of Things" for free
Nobody can imagine an OS that runs on every electronic/electrical equipment around you as a paid software. If you have to buy a bulb or coffee maker running Windows (or any other OS that has license fee) the cost will be doubled or tripled or quadrupled due to the cost of license fee. So a paid OS for Internet of Things will never work. If that is the case, the manufacturers will come up with their own Linux based or BSD based or home grown solutions. And mark my word, the Internet of Things OS will most probably be open sourced. Unless it is open sourced it can't be modified and adapted to everything around you from your bike to bulb and your AC to mosquito repellent. Only exception will be Apple, who will still insist that their hardware and software are unique and that will drive the last nail on their coffin.
Microsoft open sources large portion of .NET
Microsoft has open sourced lot of .NET projects under an unbrella .NET Foundation. Mostly they will be released under Apache 2.0 license which is FSF approved and GPL v3 compatible. So this from the same company that called Linux a cancer and took extreme measures like secure boot to lock laptops and not allowing users to install other operating systems. Why? I think the major reason is, they can't maintain the crappy code their highly paid and poorly skilled developers are making. So they are releasing the code to public so that they can just oversee the activities while hobby programmers and others like college students, freelance programmers etc can take up review, bug reporting, fixing and enhancements. So I feel the motive behind open sourcing too is selfishness. Let us see how things unfold in the long run.
Conclusion:
Microsoft, like Apple and Google is a corporate that tries to become a monopoly in digital world. Apple and Google are also known to release some software code as open source but still their activities prove time and again that their intention is to keep people without any real freedom. Android, Chrome, Darwin, Webkit etc are open sourced not to benefit the public. There are two reasons. Either these software are lifted from existing open source software or their nature itself forces the source to released, without which, development/maintenance becomes costly and problematic. Now Microsoft has joined them. It may be the new CEO or the dying industry! They have taken a 180 degree turn. But the real freedom loving people should try their best to ignore these gimmicks and go ahead with truly free (as in freedom) and open software.
References:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/microsoft-to-stop-linux-older-windows-from-running-on-windows-8-pcs/9589
http://wind8apps.com/windows-free-phones-small-tablets-iot-devices/
http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-open-sources-more-of-its-net-technologies-7000028031/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Microsoft-offers-Windows-Phone-OS-free-to-Indian-players/articleshow/31924651.cms
http://www.osnews.com/story/24800/Microsoft_Earns_More_from_Android_than_Windows_Phone_7
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/03/microsoft-launches-net-foundation-to-foster-the-net-open-source-ecosystem/
http://searchengineland.com/battle-for-books-evil-google-versus-the-altruistic-open-content-alliance-10115
- Microsoft to give Windows OS free to Indian Phone Manufacturers
- Microsoft to give Windows OS free for phones and small tablets
- Microsoft to give Windows OS free for laptop OEMs
- Microsoft to give Windows OS for "Internet of Things" for free
- Microsoft open sources large portion of .NET
Let me share my opinions on each of the above statements here.
Note: People are so confused with the terms free software, open source and freeware. If you are one such person, please read this post for clarity!
Microsoft to give Windows OS free to Indian Phone Manufacturers
Microsoft wanted some Indian phone manufacturers to make cheap Windows mobiles so that they can compete in low-end market. But who will be able to pay around Rs. 1,200 extra for every phone to get the license of the OS when a costless alternative is available? This is the reason Google made Android available for free of cost. As Android is free of cost, most phone manufacturers adapted it to their phones and now Android is the clear market leader. Now Goolgle is earning through ads, app purchases, by selling songs/books/movies etc.
Windows thought that the same tactic that worked on PCs of desktop era will also work on mobiles of smartphone era. But their market share was (and is) so pathetic that at one point they earned more from Android phones than Windows phones. Very few people are developing Windows phone apps. People in developing nations are buying cheaper alternatives. So they tried their best to push their OS to the world's second largest developing market with their Microsoft tax. But the Indian companies rejected Microsoft's offer until they were down on their knees and accepted to give the OS without licensing fee. The funniest part is, even Nokia can't get Windows for free. Why Microsoft did this? Are the Indian companies so clever to bargain and strike such deal? I think no! The Indian companies are the reality that every other company is going to end with. With increasing demand for higher hardware specs in a lower price range, sooner or later, companies should let go the unwanted load of paying for OS. So, it is much like Indian companies telling Microsoft what reality is and Microsoft accepting it without any other option left!
Microsoft to give Windows OS free for phones and small tablets
The previous happened by February/March 2014. As noted, all companies, no matter how big they are will follow the Indian manufacturers in opting for a free of cost operating system to cut cost and stay competitive in the market. So Microsoft can't tax every phone produced and expect their market share to grow or even sustain. It is just Microsoft realizing the truth again. But here is a catch. Microsoft will charge tablets with screens larger than 9 inches. So, it is much like, they will give the OS for free to smaller devices and increase their market share and bring more people to develop their apps, while on the other side, they will gradually start charging license fee. Once a market monopoly is attained (that will never happen!), they will charge the fee in full swing and from everyone. Remember, they are giving it for free of cost, but the source is still closed. So for everything like updates/upgrades/bug-fixes/optimization/customization etc, the companies need to depend upon Microsoft as the code is not open.
Microsoft to give Windows OS free for laptop OEMs
Now Microsoft is also considering a free of cost version of Windows for laptops so that laptop manufacturers can bundle them without paying the fee. Again, this is a honey trap to trick many users to buy laptops running crippled version of Windows. If they want a better version, they should pay. They may restrict the number of applications that can run at same time.They may not provide options to do critical administrative tasks in Control Panel etc. And if a user wants that, Microsoft will ask them to pay for a professional or ultimate edition.
Microsoft to give Windows OS for "Internet of Things" for free
Nobody can imagine an OS that runs on every electronic/electrical equipment around you as a paid software. If you have to buy a bulb or coffee maker running Windows (or any other OS that has license fee) the cost will be doubled or tripled or quadrupled due to the cost of license fee. So a paid OS for Internet of Things will never work. If that is the case, the manufacturers will come up with their own Linux based or BSD based or home grown solutions. And mark my word, the Internet of Things OS will most probably be open sourced. Unless it is open sourced it can't be modified and adapted to everything around you from your bike to bulb and your AC to mosquito repellent. Only exception will be Apple, who will still insist that their hardware and software are unique and that will drive the last nail on their coffin.
Microsoft open sources large portion of .NET
Microsoft has open sourced lot of .NET projects under an unbrella .NET Foundation. Mostly they will be released under Apache 2.0 license which is FSF approved and GPL v3 compatible. So this from the same company that called Linux a cancer and took extreme measures like secure boot to lock laptops and not allowing users to install other operating systems. Why? I think the major reason is, they can't maintain the crappy code their highly paid and poorly skilled developers are making. So they are releasing the code to public so that they can just oversee the activities while hobby programmers and others like college students, freelance programmers etc can take up review, bug reporting, fixing and enhancements. So I feel the motive behind open sourcing too is selfishness. Let us see how things unfold in the long run.
Conclusion:
Microsoft, like Apple and Google is a corporate that tries to become a monopoly in digital world. Apple and Google are also known to release some software code as open source but still their activities prove time and again that their intention is to keep people without any real freedom. Android, Chrome, Darwin, Webkit etc are open sourced not to benefit the public. There are two reasons. Either these software are lifted from existing open source software or their nature itself forces the source to released, without which, development/maintenance becomes costly and problematic. Now Microsoft has joined them. It may be the new CEO or the dying industry! They have taken a 180 degree turn. But the real freedom loving people should try their best to ignore these gimmicks and go ahead with truly free (as in freedom) and open software.
References:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/microsoft-to-stop-linux-older-windows-from-running-on-windows-8-pcs/9589
http://wind8apps.com/windows-free-phones-small-tablets-iot-devices/
http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-open-sources-more-of-its-net-technologies-7000028031/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Microsoft-offers-Windows-Phone-OS-free-to-Indian-players/articleshow/31924651.cms
http://www.osnews.com/story/24800/Microsoft_Earns_More_from_Android_than_Windows_Phone_7
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/03/microsoft-launches-net-foundation-to-foster-the-net-open-source-ecosystem/
http://searchengineland.com/battle-for-books-evil-google-versus-the-altruistic-open-content-alliance-10115
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