Ars Technica reports: "Microsoft promises to defend—not attack—Linux with its 60,000 patents"

Has Microsoft developed a consciousness?

I am sure there is a catch, and an ulterior motive.

I agree. I don't think I will ever trust Microsoft.

Microsoft & Linux are like acid & alkaline/chalk & cheese - no, I just don't trust them!

"Promises" aren't enough - when they've established a pattern of consistently trustwothy behaviour over time I'll think about considering trusting them.

But even if, I wouldn't go back to proprietary software.

Sure, as much as I'm Elvis, yeah right. If they had one to begin with, they'd believe in real competition, not trying to destroy Linux, etc. Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.

They are a business, the aim is to make money, full stop.

It probably all revolves around the Azure platform and of course the purchase of github...

You could perhaps call it the "embrace" phase... It certainly puts MS in a better position from a business and PR point of view.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" has always applied to business.

There is absolutely no way microsoft could "extinguish" Linux. Linux runs the Internet, (majority of services) - microsoft products could not reliably and securely run the Internet without massive cost and without creating a huge attack surface. their products simply cannot compete on multiple levels (performance, security, cost) with Linux server offerings - either open source or commercial.

I'm not worried about Linux being extinguished, more that if they (microsoft) invokes "patents", the open source community will have to regroup and redesign some software to accommodate. Software patents are a horrible idea but that's why patent trolls love them so much. It's not about innovation, it's about $.

Sorry, was channeling RMS there and didn't mean to...

Spot on!

Just for the record, let's be very clear that “embrace, extend, extinguish” is not some urban legend or the product of Microsoft hating Linux fanbois.

This is why the threat of MS cannot be downplayed. However MS are really not the only threat - there are other large corporations cosying up to the Linux Foundation and we have no clear idea of their intentions either.

We should not forget that *BSD, Linux and other FOSS came about because of "hackers", some of which were working or studying at well known Universities in the US and elsewhere were allowed to be creative and work to their own schedules.

We should also not forget the SCO debacle and that Linux and especially the *BSDs were under attack from patent wielding corporations pretty much from the start. To their credit, a few corporations did some good, e.g. Sun, but they are now consigned to history. You have to consider the demise of Sun, Microsoft's role in all that and what Microsoft has really been doing ever since (hint: reading MS' own press releases or other tech press waffle won't reveal much).

Someone standing on a stage and gushing about how his company "loves Linux", doesn't count for much, if behind the scenes his company is still patent trolling by proxy.
It certainly is all "about $". To be more specific: shareholders.

I agree that "extinguish" might seem dated. Linux has simply gotten too big and too relevant for MS to harm easily - or
to ignore or dismiss. But there are certainly more than a few ways to "extinguish".

Intel, AMD, HP, IBM, Oracle, Cisco, facebook and of course google have all been involved in Linux and "open source" for years. MS' recent "love" is nothing more than the acknowledgement that they have lost the battle, but not the war. This is the realisation from MS that they simply needs to be "in it to win it". Remaining distant as Linux grows is not a strong position for MS to be in. MS tried this before, Android happened and Windows Phone "did not"... 20 years ago IE was "the internet" for most people, now it (and edge), are irrelevant when compared to chrome.

I've been around through all of microsoft's ceo's/owner's/dictators and the "embrace, extend, extinguish" was most prevalent with the previous malevolent dictator. I don't trust them for sure, and I don't know whether this recent "warming" up to Linux is a tactic or genuine. Might be just as you say - lost the battle but not the war. For them, there are no ideals at stake: it's all about $ and their business (and stakeholders), which all still boils down to money.

As I mentioned in this (or another similar post), there will always be rebels who buck the system. I know this because I am one. Rebels don't like having their computing experience dictated to them, which is why i am still on the fence about my perfectly working systemd Linux distro and switching back to FreeBSD or even attempting to get Slackware working on my hardware.

Funny the political discussions we IT guys/gals get into

Techrights article on this same issue: http://techrights.org/2018/10/10/lot...t-and-now-oin/

jsbjsb001 and cynwulf seem to make sense. The pattern is all too familiar, visicalc, word perfect, ...
Where is the kernel developed?

I don't know. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt insofar as they're already a member of quite a few open source initiatives and that people change. Companies change. Developers are embracing open source and perhaps Microsoft's motivation in doing so as well is that it doesn't want to be left behind.

Github - it was set up specifically to counter the MS aquisition syndrome.