In a recent Q&A interview in Information Week, Bill Hilf was reported to be revealing Microsoft’s open source “strategy.” But a scathing review of the Q&A was posted on the ZDNet blog “Shared software, shared processes” (an online publication that competes with Information Week, mind you.) Still the blog posed some interesting questions about Bill Hilf’s role with Microsoft’s strategy generally, and open source specifically. The blog says:
“He claimed proprietary software offers a ‘guarantee’ it works (try to find that in any license agreement), said his customers have “never heard of” Richard Stallman, and admitted he competes with Red Hat.”
The post continues to note that although Hilf once worked in the world of open source, he now works under Steve Ballmer, who has gone to great lengths to treat open source like Microsoft’s enemy. Last month, Hilf, the leader of Microsoft’s integration efforts between open source software and its proprietary technologies, added the title “general manager of Windows server marketing.” This in addition to being the person that runs Microsoft’s Open Source Lab.
But it may be simplistic to jump to the obvious conclusion here, and say that Hilf’s role is all about discrediting open source in the eyes of Microsoft’s customers (and hence, selling more Windows). Think it through. If you were in charge of making Microsoft play nice with Linux, would you be able to do that best by being antagonistic to your home team? That would get you kicked off the team in a hurry, your internal influence gone.
Or would it be better to the big picture that you play on the team and slowly but insistently make Windows and Linux work nicely together. Remember, too, that if it is Ballmer’s goal to “eliminate the enemy” it is also the goal of some Linux lovers to wipe out Windows. There are two ways to end a war: the winner-takes-all approach and the truce, let-us-now-be-friends approach. It remains to be seen which ending Hilf has in mind.
