Samba stepped on by MS

Microsoft has opened a new chapter in its long-running dispute with open-source software developers--and it could have antitrust implications.

In late March, Microsoft published a document that outlines how third-party developers can use Common Internet File Sharing (CIFS), a protocol developed by Microsoft that specifies how Windows PCs share files with servers. Though publishing the document should make it easier to write software that incorporates CIFS, it contains a crucial restriction that has instead handcuffed some developers.

Samba software lets Linux and Unix-based servers look like Windows servers, allowing them to communicate effortlessly with Windows PCs. Because a federal judge has already determined that Microsoft has a monopoly on the desktop-computer operating system, the ability of competitors' server computers to work with Windows PCs is a central issue in whether the company is behaving anti-competitively to extend its monopoly into the server market and other areas. The desktop-server connection is also part of Sun Microsystems' private antitrust suit against Microsoft.

Specifically, Microsoft requires programmers to sign an agreement that prohibits using information in the document when building software governed by the General Public License ( GPL). Among the products affected by the restriction is Samba, widely used software that competes with file sharing technology in Microsoft's Windows operating system. Samba uses CIFS to communicate with client systems.

"In brief, it sucks," said Jeremy Allison, a leader of the Samba project. He called Microsoft's agreement "a direct attack" on Samba and the GPL.

The article does go on, and on, and on.... but it is worth a read IMHO.

News source: ZDNet News