Windows Protocols To Be Open-Source

Redmond (WA) - As part of 2004 EU anti-monopoly decision which mandates that Microsoft open up part of its Windows operating systems to third party developers, Microsoft today has finally agreed to some of the terms. Microsoft will license proprietary information on how Windows shares file and printer data with the Protocol Freedom Information Foundation (PFIF), a move which will ultimately bring Samba’s tools to Windows. Samba is an open-source suite of utilities related to file, data and printer sharing for use with the Linux operating system.

As part of the deal, Microsoft will receive a one-time fee of 10,000 Euros ($14,350) to allow PFIF to receive the information in confidence. Once the protocol data is converted into source code by Samba, however, it can be distributed open-source without any further restrictions.

Read more ... San Jose Mercury News.