Microsoft Does A Linux, Well Almost - Gizmo Watch

Microsoft Does A Linux, Well Almost - Gizmo Watch "For long Microsoft has always been perceived as a monopolistic behemoth caring for nothing but bigger profits and larger marketshare. In the recent years, Microsoft, in an attempt to reinvent it’s image has stepped up the gas on the education platform and has made major contribution to the IT education sector worldwide. Continuing in this direction, Microsoft, after almost half a decade of development, has finally unveiled the Singularity research development kit for academic non commercial work at the Microsoft Techfest 2008 in Redmond,Washington. To give you a perspective on what this is all about, The Singularity is basically a prototype operating system for computer researchers and students which some tout as the Operating System of the future. This system is mainly meant to get young software researchers thinking and come up with innovative ways of blending operating systems and applications. In layman parlance, develop newer innovative platforms that could someday end up as a new technology. By sharing the source code, Microsoft have almost done a Linux, by enabling students and researchers to modify the code in whichever way it suits them to bring out some unconventional ideas. How do you get your hands on this code? Don’t worry, for a change Microsoft has decided to offer it for free albeit with one small term.You will have to download it from CodePlex, the portal microsoft developed sometime ago for what they call Interactive product development. For all criticism Microsoft has faced, the software giant, for once is doing something good for the IT world. And now that Microsoft has shared the source code, some bright kid somewhere on this planet could just find a way to beat microsoft at it’s own game. You never know, the possibilities are endless. Dream on.
Source: Engadget"