Topic: Microsoft

At some point while trying to get companies to adopt open source practices, Robert Lefkowitz realized that there was no specific open source software development methodology. In this presentation Lefkowitz discusses how he used Quintilian's Institutes of Oratory as a starting point to establish a framework for software development. With humor and insight, he outlines issues specific to open source, and shows how companies can create exceptional software by embracing a process where errors are not a bad thing.

Microsoft Research is dedicated to conducting both basic and applied research in computer science and software engineering. The company also collaborates openly with colleges and universities to advance the field of computer science. Senior Vice President Rick Rashid joins Phil, Scott, and Ben to discuss both Microsoft Research, as well as the general status of technology research. They talk about research differences between Microsoft and Google, the controversial topic of software patents, and other current research issues.

This week, Phil, Scott, and Ben discuss a number of current tech events, including Apple's recent iMac, iLife, and iWork announcements. The group talks about how the "Wow Factor" has become more important in development, leading to a review of which features of the iPhone most enhance the user experience. The group also assesses the new Apple software updates and whether the features of the suites will draw more users from the Microsoft Office products. They also talk about Microsoft as a company, reviewing how they gained dominance with a number of their products.

Each year, leaders from academia join with Microsoft researchers to explore the latest research results, collectively discuss the challenges being faced by the community, search for the best approaches to meeting those challenges, and identify new research opportunities. This week's Technometria features the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit's opening panel, moderated by Ed Lazowska. The panel includes a number of leading academics and Microsoft researchers.

Customers are now implementing solutions based upon the OASIS OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Microsoft's OpenXML standard but that's just the tip of the iceberg. OpenDocument expert Gary Edwards believes that adopting OpenXML means lock-in to Microsoft products and services on an unprecedented scale. In this podcast, Edwards defends OpenDocument's capabilities but also challenges the ODF community to out-innovate Microsoft to provide a competitive alternative to Microsoft's lock-in.

Scott talks to Bruce Perens about the reaction to his criticism of Novell's financial and development agreements with Microsoft. In this conversation, Scott challenges an earlier Perens statement that the agreement amounts to "SCO all over again." In particular, Scott focuses on Microsoft's recent willingness to engage the open source community in ways SCO does not. Scott also talks with Bruce about the number of venture-funded open source startups who believe in software patents and the prospects for a more effective open source lobbying organization?

The Mono Project is an open source development initiative sponsored by Novell to develop an open source, UNIX version of the Microsoft .NET development platform. Its objective is to enable UNIX developers to build and deploy cross-platform .NET Applications. Its founder, Miguel de Icaza, joins Phil, Scott Lemon, and Ben Galbraith, in a review of the project's history, purpose, and architecture. Miguel's descriptions are technical, but clear, and the discussion is a great introduction to the project.

The issue of patents for software is a major controversy, particularly in the open source community. On March 19, 2007, Bruce Perens held a news conference to criticize Novell's recent agreement with Microsoft as a betrayal of the open source community. On the same day, he joined Phil and Scott to discuss his criticism. In addition, he gives a clear overview of the United States patent system as it relates to software and how he believes it is a problem to open source developers.

Early January is a busy period in technology with events such as Macworld and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). As the Director of Operations for OC Tanner, Kelly Phillipps must stay abreast of new products and software upgrades. He joins Phil, Matt, and Scott in a discussion of what's new or upcoming in the IT world. They talk about the new iPhone from Apple, Linux as a desktop alternative, and how an enterprise decides whether to upgrade an operating system, particularly the newly released Microsoft Windows Vista.

While at Microsoft, Stephen Walli helped the company explore moving beyond more restricted shared-source software licensing schemes to freer GPL-oriented projects such as WIX. Now an outsider, he urges Microsoft to contribute far more into open source, and offers the new release of SQL Server as a candidate. Walli says why this type of contribution would benefit the company, and why attempting to liberate core Windows or Office software would be much harder.