Open Source Alliance Cyberjaya

PORTLAND, Oregon — After years of being relegated to server racks and the desktops of ultrageeks, Linux is finally making some headway as a viable alternative to Windows on the consumer desktop.

That’s the optimistic message delivered by a newly energized contingent of Linux proponents. By employing the same consumer-friendly marketing techniques practiced by Microsoft, and by taking advantage of the rising popularity of web-based applications, Linux vendors are getting ready for what they say will be a wave of consumer interest in the free operating system.

“This is the next great battle, and this is where Linux has never really been before — Linux as a consumer product,” says Gerry Carr, marketing manager of Canonical, one of many Linux distribution makers attending the ninth annual O’Reilly Open Source Convention taking place here this week.

Ten years ago, the free and open-source software community fervently hoped that Linux would rise to challenge Microsoft’s position as the de facto consumer desktop software platform. Linux could run on a wide range of hardware, it could be configured for specialized tasks and — best of all — it cost nothing.

But the dream of Linux on every desktop hasn’t come to pass. Most distributions are plagued by compatibility problems, and a fair amount of geek know-how is usually required to install Linux and get it working properly. As a result, Linux found more traction as a server operating system, undergirding the systems that power websites, databases and other back-office applications, where it holds almost 13 percent of the market.

Read more: Wired

Microsoft will submit its Shared Source licenses to the Open Source Initiative for review and approval as open-source licenses.

Bill Hilf, general manager of platform strategy at Microsoft, used his keynote address at the annual O’Reilly Open Source Conference in Portland, Ore. on July 26 to discuss Microsoft’s evolving open-source strategy.

As part of that, he highlighted a new Microsoft Web site designed to provide additional transparency into the company’s position on open source, and announced the company’s intent to submit its Shared Source licenses to the OSI for approval.

“Microsoft and the OSI are currently in active discussion on this and additional details will be made available in the coming weeks,” Hilf said.

A Microsoft spokesperson declined to give any additional specifics and, when asked what had changed to make this the right time for Microsoft to seek open-source approval for its licenses, the spokesperson would only say that “things continue to evolve when it comes to open source at Microsoft.”

“Perhaps Microsoft is trying to mend some burned bridges after it claimed that 235 of its patents were being violated by Linux and open-source software and then said it was not bound by GPLv3 in any way,” one open-source developer told eWEEK.

Read more: eWeek