REDMOND, WA -- In a first attempt at "embrace-and-extend" of open source
software, Microsoft will release its popular Solitaire and FreeCell games as
open source under the MILA (Microsoft Innovative License Agreement).
According to a Microsoft press release, the Visual C++ source code for the
two games will be available from the Microsoft website "in the first quarter"
(no year was specified).
Industry pundits hail the move as revolutionary. "Microsoft's release of its
most popular Windows feature as open source software demonstrates just how
innovative the company really is. The DoJ is clearly barking up the wrong
tree," wrote one Ziff-Davis flunkie. One executive at a large company said,
"Freely available source code is the best idea Microsoft has ever invented."
One Linux developer told Humorix, "Let's just hope some fool doesn't try to
port this thing to Linux. Imagine the havoc that could ensue if a bunch of
core Linux contributors downloaded Solitaire and became addicted to it. It
would be a disaster! Linux and open source development would grind to a halt
while the hackers wasted their time playing Solitaire or FreeCell. 'Just one
more game...' they would say."
