Microsoft scratches itch, ends up with open-source blogging platform
In one of the clearest testaments to date that Microsoft is increasingly open to open source, a group within Microsoft has released Oxite, a "standards-compliant and highly extensible content management platform," designed as a developer-grade blogging platform, as reported in PC World.
The project sounds interesting, but I'm particularly intrigued by its origin, which came about in true open-source fashion:
They built it not because there is a need for another blog engine, but because they were building the MIX Online site for Web designers and wanted to offer an example of a use for ASP.NET MVC, according to the Oxite Web site.
That's exactly how it's supposed to happen. The fact that software is now born in Redmond in this open-source manner, however, is something to cheer.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
