Openness on Display at MIX 10
Microsoft has been pursuing a strategy of increasingly open and interoperable systems for a few years now, a strategy that got its start in the Developer Division under Corporate Vice President Scott Guthrie.
So I guess we shouldn't be surprised that this year's MIX event is actively pushing the openness effort at Redmond to new extremes.
Consider today's keynote session, which included a dive into Microsoft's Open Data Protocol (OData), a technology that promises to throw open the doors to all sorts of privately and publicly accessible data and information. Or look at Guthrie's announcement about Microsoft's support for the open source jQuery JavaScript Library, to which Redmond will be actively contributing code and resources. Or consider Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer (IE), and his focus standards (namely, HTML 5) in the upcoming IE9 Web browser.
Make no mistake, Microsoft is committed to .NET and Windows. But the days of Redmond jealously withholding support and access --especially in the developer space -- are long gone. And if Guthrie's long track record in the DevDiv is any indication, we can expect more openness down the road.
Posted by Michael Desmond on 03/16/2010