Microsoft said Friday that its inquiry confirms that a tool aimed to make it easier to load Windows 7 on a Netbook does in fact contain open-source code.
"After looking at the code in question, we are now able to confirm this was indeed the case, although it was not intentional on our part," Microsoft's Peter Galli said in a blog posting. "While we had contracted with a third party to create the tool, we share responsibility as we did not catch it as part of our code review process. We have furthermore conducted a review of other code provided through the Microsoft Store and this was the only incident of this sort we could find.
As a result, Microsoft said it will make available next week the source code for the tool as well as the binaries under the terms of the General Public License (GPL v2). Microsoft will also make the tool again available to customers at the Microsoft store.
Microsoft had pulled the software utility down earlier this week after blogger Rafael Rivera noted in a posting that the tool appeared to use code from the open source ImageMaster project. (Of note, that project is now no longer available on CodePlex, where it had been posted).
Though somewhat arcane, the Windows USB/DVD Tool was Microsoft's answer to a tough problem--upgrading the operating system on Netbooks and other PCs without an optical drive.
Microsoft had been exploring for months different ways to handle the issue, eventually settling on this software program, released last month, which lets users take a downloadable copy of the operating system and create a bootable drive.
Releasing software under an open-source license is not entirely new to Microsoft, although Microsoft typically doesn't do so under the GPL, which it sees as one of the more restrictive of the open-source licenses.
The software maker did release a few Linux drivers under GPLv2, although it may have had its hand forced there as well. Some have suggested the drivers contained GPL code, meaning that they necessarily would have had to be released back under the same GPL license.
Microsoft confirmed on Friday that a tool aimed at making it easier to get Windows 7 on to Netbooks does, in fact, use open source code. As a result, Microsoft said it will make the code for the tool publicly available next week.
(Credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft has halted distribution of its Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool after questions were raised as to whether the software utility makes improper use of open-source code. The tool is designed to help owners of Windows XP-based Netbooks get Windows 7 onto their machines.
(Credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft has halted distribution of a tool aimed at making it easier to put Windows 7 on Netbooks amid allegations that the utility makes improper use of open-source code.
The software maker said on Tuesday that it has pulled down the Windows USB/DVD Tool while it investigates the issue, which was raised last week by Windows blogger Rafael Rivera on his Within Windows blog.
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In his blog post, Rivera said Microsoft appears to use code from a tool called ImageMaster that is licensed under the GPLv2 open-source license. The General Public License, like other open-source licenses, allows code to be freely used by others, but has its own set of terms and conditions, such as sharing any modifications made to the code.
Microsoft confirmed it has launched a review of the matter and taken the utility off its online Microsoft Store until that inquiry has been completed.
"Microsoft is looking into this issue and is taking down the (Windows 7 updating) tool from the Microsoft Store site until its review is complete," the company said in a statement. "We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience."
Though somewhat arcane, the utility is important because it solves a technical challenge in upgrading the operating system on Netbooks and other PCs without an optical drive.
Microsoft had been exploring for months different ways of trying to help users of Windows XP-based Netbooks move to Windows 7. The tool, which was released last month alongside Windows 7, allows users to take a downloadable copy of the operating system and create a bootable drive.
The issue is also a thorn in Microsoft's efforts to show that it can play nice with the open-source community. As ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley notes, this isn't the first time Microsoft has been accused of misusing GPL code.
The latest dust-up comes as Microsoft is celebrating the third anniversary of its deal with Novell, one of Microsoft's biggest--and most controversial--efforts to blend its world with the open-source world.
Under that deal, Microsoft agreed not to sue Novell customers for their use of its Linux distributions.
Microsoft has also released a number of products under various open-source licenses itself, though typically not under the GPL, which it sees as one of the more restrictive licenses. Redmond has been particularly critical of terms in version 3 of the GPL.
The software maker did release a few Linux drivers under GPLv2, although it appears its hand may have been forced there. Some have suggested the drivers contained GPL code, meaning that they would have necessarily needed to be released back under the GPL.
Microsoft has taken a number of different approaches to open-source software, particularly Linux. The software maker has at times accepted the notion of a heterogeneous world where Linux and Windows co-exist, pledging to do better to make sure IT administrators can manage mixed environments.
At other times, Microsoft executives have lashed out, painting open-source software as violating hundreds of Microsoft patents. In its lawsuit against TomTom earlier this year, Microsoft for the first time made those accusations in court, alleging that TomTom's implementation of Linux in its GPS systems infringed on Microsoft patents. The two companies quickly settled the matter, although terms were not disclosed.
Microsoft's top executives are set to announce a broad interoperability strategy that includes an agreement not to sue open-source developers for products that connect to Microsoft software, a source familiar with the company's plans told CNET News.com.
The software maker had already taken baby steps in this direction, signing individual pacts with companies like Novell and Turbolinux, as well as agreeing not to sue individual developers.
The company has scheduled a conference call at 8:30 a.m. PST on Thursday to discuss the news. Among the executives on the call are CEO Steve Ballmer, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, server and tools head Bob Muglia, and General Counsel Brad Smith.
Ray Ozzie (left) and Steve Ballmer.
(Credit: Microsoft)Update: Microsoft issued its press release with more details.
Microsoft on Thursday announced changes in its business practices to work better with software from other providers, including open-source communities.
It laid out four principles aimed at making its high-volume enterprise software support standards and better handling data from non-Microsoft software.
Specifically, Microsoft said it will publish the documentation for the application programming interfaces and communications protocols in its "high-volume products." Developers do not need to buy a license or pay a royalty to access the information.
As a first step, Microsoft will publish protocols for communicating with Windows Server, which had previously only been available under a trade secret license. Protocols for interoperability with Office 2007 will be published in the coming months, the company said.
Microsoft said the pledge will ultimately extend to Windows Vista, the .NET Framework, Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Office 2007, Exchange Server 2007, and Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Microsoft said that it will not sue open-source developers who create non-commercial software based on Microsoft's protocols.
The company also said that it will provide new application programming interfaces to developers so that Office 2007 can better work with document formats. The company does not natively support the alternative Open Document Format, or ODF, standard in Office 2007.
Although it does not mention ODF specifically in its release, Microsoft also launched a Document Interoperability Initiative to "address data exchange between widely deployed formats."
Microsoft said the Open Source Interoperability Initiative will foster a better working relationship with open-source projects, and will provide technical assistance, such as interoperability testing.
Through a previously created Interoperability Executive Customer (IEC) Council, Microsoft will seek to create a better "(dialogue) and outreach" with partners, customers, and developers on the subject of interoperability.
In a statement, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said these steps are part of the company's efforts to comply with antitrust obligations laid out by the European Court of First Instance (CFI).
"As we said immediately after the CFI decision last September, Microsoft is committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure we are in full compliance with European law," Smith said.
CNET News.com's Martin LaMonica contributed to this report.
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