New website aims to improve dialogue with open source community

Microsoft has launched a website for its Linux and open source interoperability lab.

In a keynote at the LinuxWorld conference in Boston, Bill Hilf, Microsoft's general manager for platform strategy, said that the site is aims to improve dialogue between Microsoft and open source developers.

"One of the most interesting things about open source is the feedback loop," Hilf told delegates.

Hilf's presentation marked the first time that Microsoft has delivered a keynote at LinuxWorld.

The site is called Port 25, after the network port on computer systems that lets through email traffic.

"I am proud to see the evolution away from the myopic thinking that there is only one tool or one model to solve a problem," said Hilf.

"I am really proud that the industry is recognising that commercial and open source software can and will exist together. That's a maturation of what is happening in our industry."

Hilf argued that data should be translatable to ensure interoperability, but he also urged restraint in setting standards that might not meet market demands.

"If you standardise far too early, you can have a large gap between what the du jour standard is and what the marketplace might actually use," he said.

Hilf heads up Microsoft's Linux and open source lab. The initiative seeks to ensure that Windows and Linux or Unix systems work well together, and has worked on allowing Linux systems to talk with Microsoft's Active Directory.

Hilf also highlighted work to make Windows work well with the Xen open source virtualisation engine.