Beyond the Code
or, how to win friends, influence people and make a living by writing open source software. It's not just about the code.
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Wednesday 11 November 2009, 10:19 AM
Did Microsoft violate the GPL?
Over on ZDNet.com, Mary Jo Foley is reporting that Microsoft has pulled a Windows migration tool from its site after evidence was found that it used code released under the GNU General Public License without complying with its terms.
The Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, designed to help upgrade netbooks from Windows XP to Windows 7, appeared to contain code from ImageMaster, an open source Windows application hosted on Microsoft's own forge, CodePlex. ImageMaster is released under the GPL, and so Microsoft would have to make its own source code available to comply with the licence if it has used code from ImageMaster.
The evidence was found by Rafael Rivera and published on his Within Windows blog. Rivera found the suspect code by using reflection on the Microsoft code and comparing it to the ImageMaster code.
What's quite sad about this is that the tool in question wasn't being sold for money, and was just there to help people upgrade to a new Microsoft operating system. Were Microsoft to release the source code of the tool under the GPL, it wouldn't lose any money, since it's not asking for any. It might even gain some new Windows 7 users, as people hack the code to make it support a wider range of hardware. Dogma is preventing everyone from gaining in this situation.
The Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, designed to help upgrade netbooks from Windows XP to Windows 7, appeared to contain code from ImageMaster, an open source Windows application hosted on Microsoft's own forge, CodePlex. ImageMaster is released under the GPL, and so Microsoft would have to make its own source code available to comply with the licence if it has used code from ImageMaster.
The evidence was found by Rafael Rivera and published on his Within Windows blog. Rivera found the suspect code by using reflection on the Microsoft code and comparing it to the ImageMaster code.
What's quite sad about this is that the tool in question wasn't being sold for money, and was just there to help people upgrade to a new Microsoft operating system. Were Microsoft to release the source code of the tool under the GPL, it wouldn't lose any money, since it's not asking for any. It might even gain some new Windows 7 users, as people hack the code to make it support a wider range of hardware. Dogma is preventing everyone from gaining in this situation.
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