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April 06, 2006
Port 25 - Microsoft on Open Source
Microsoft launches Port 25 - a site that focusses on "communications from the Open Source Software Lab @ Microsoft". This from Bill Hilf, General Manager of Platform Strategy:
So why is it called Port 25? Some background on port numbers first. SMTP is short for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and is the protocol for sending email messages between servers or from a mail client to a mail server. On a server, the port for SMTP is 25. When you open a port on a server, such as to allow for SMTP traffic, it is commonly referred to as ‘listening’ on the port. Port 25, therefore, is a metaphor for how we are opening the communication lines to for a discussion around Open Source Software and Microsoft. Cute, huh?
Yeah, cute. Ahem. The site is sort of empty at the moment - just a few introductory posts. It will be interesting to see how they spin the content and my guess is that over time we will see a significant shift away from the typical FUD that has been spread in the past. Microsoft will eventually become a peer player in the Open Source scene. Maybe not by Open Sourcing Office or Windows - but certainly by making sure Open Source solutions run well on their platforms and interface with Microsoft products. In the end, it's the customers who stand to win.
Posted by Matthew at April 6, 2006 03:04 PM