Microsoft admitted it was wrong about open source

Microsoft recently admitted it had a misconception about open source, after spending years trying to bury it with Linux in order to preserve its dominance in the desktop operating system market. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer once called Linux " a cancer of the intellectual property wherever it touches " in 2001.

But now Microsoft President Brad Smith believes the company is wrong about open source. " Microsoft was on the wrong side of history when open source exploded at the beginning of this century, and I can say that I personally made the same mistake, " Smith said at a recent MIT event. Smith has worked at Microsoft for over 25 years, having been one of the company's senior lawyers in their battle with open source software.

" The good news is, if you live long enough, you can learn that you need to change, " Smith added. Microsoft has certainly changed since the days they called Linux a cancer. The software giant is currently the largest distributor for open source projects worldwide, surpassing Facebook, Docker, Google, Apache, and many others.

Ubuntu's Bash shell in Windows 10

Microsoft has been encouraging the use of open source for many years, including the opening of PowerShell, Visual Studio Code, and even the original JavaScript engine of the Microsoft Edge browser. Microsoft also partnered with Canonical to bring Ubuntu to Windows 10, and acquired Xamarin to support the development of mobile applications, as well as acquiring GitHub to maintain a popular source code repository for developers.

Microsoft even plans to include the full Linux kernel in a Windows 10 update expected later this month, and migrated to the Chromium browser engine for Edge last year. The company also collaborates with the open source community to create the PowerToys app for Windows 10, and their new open design philosophy is likely an indication that we will soon see more source code efforts. Open more in Windows in the coming years.