Microsoft releases code for Linux drivers

From InfoWorld: Microsoft, which has been at odds with the Linux community over the years because of intellectual property issues, said on Monday it has released 20,000 lines of device driver code to the Linux kernel community.

Available for inclusion in the Linux tree, the code includes three Linux device drivers; it will be available to both the Linux community and customers. The drivers will enhance the performance of the Linux operating system when virtualized on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 virtualization software or Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V. Code will be offered under the GNU General Public License 2.

"We are seeing Microsoft communities and open source communities grow together, which is ultimately of benefit to our customers," said Microsoft's Sam Ramji, senior director of platform strategy in the company's Server and Tools organization, in a statement released by the company. "The Linux community, for example, has built a platform used by many customers. So our strategy is to enhance interoperability between the Windows platform and many open source technologies, which includes Linux, to provide the choices our customers are asking for."

"Today's release would have been unheard of from Microsoft a few years ago but it's a prime example that customer demand is a powerful catalyst for change," said Ramji.

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