InformationWeek's Charlie Babcock says what many others have wanted and tried and some never dared to say over the years, but then again, they're not IW editors...
To maintain its developer ecosystem and protect its apps business, Microsoft has no choice but to loosen its grip on the Windows source code and drive down costs...
...
But people are wrong when they assume that Microsoft will never move Windows down the open source path. To neutralize the advantages of Linux and other open source competitors, Microsoft will have to make Windows more like them. If it doesn't, it risks losing the 6-million-plus developer base that's made the Windows platform great. Microsoft may not want to open up Windows to the world, but it will. Indeed, it must.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212903501
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Me, I'm not convinced. Sure, there would be nice things about such developments (and there have been...) but for the bulk of Microsoft to become just another SourceForge project?
Never. Ever.
from another place I kinda forgot...