Infopirate.org

Your source for anything and everything regarding computers, whether that be hardware, software, microsoft, apple, or the open source world.

Opinion – As long as we can remember, Apple has always been viewed as being much more creative and innovative than Microsoft. If there was a new feature in Windows, you could bet that the comparison with Apple would follow almost immediately – and allegations that Microsoft simply copied what Apple had already. There is an ongoing argument, even if many Mac OS X "innovations" are borrowed from the open-source community. Expose windows manager? Borrowed from a long list of Linux UI add-ons. Spaces?

While 2008 has been a bleak year for the financial markets and the global economy, it has been very kind to open source, at least based on market share. A review of Net Applications data suggests that there has never been a better time for open source; however, as Google Trends data suggests, it's no longer enough to rest on one's open-source laurels.

Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's intellectual property counsel, indicated that Microsoft has finally seen the open-source light in a recent interview with CNET. Demonstrating that Microsoft has finally learned that it can't fight open-source gravity, Gutierrez suggests, "Today, but increasingly in the future, we are all going to be 'mixed source'," meaning Microsoft

During my years of Linux advocacy, I am usually asked a very basic question “what makes Linux better than [insert OS here].” The answer is a result of years of developing and honing the perfect answer to a non-technical person. I usually start with explaining that there are two fundamental schools of thought in the programming world. One that conceals and forbids any changes in functionality, while the other is open and encourages customization to fit ones needs. The conversation naturally goes from there to giving examples of Open Source programs this person might be using unwittingly.