Will MS adopt WebKit?

[RobG]

According to AppleInsider, Steve Ballmer is not averse to the idea:

'Addressing a developer conference in Sydney Australia, Microsoft
CEO Steve Ballmer said the idea of using WebKit as the rendering
engine within its web browser was "interesting" and added "we may
look at that."'

<URL: http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ballmer_considers_using_webkit_within_ie.html

 

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

According to AppleInsider, Steve Ballmer is not averse to the idea:

'Addressing a developer conference in Sydney Australia, Microsoft
CEO Steve Ballmer said the idea of using WebKit as the rendering
engine within its web browser was "interesting" and added "we may
look at that."'

<URL: http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ballmer_considers_using_webkit_within_ie.html

In a way I hope they wouldn't. There are enough different DOMs to consider
already; I don't think we really need MS WebKit to make our lives even more
interesting. Besides, Apple WebKit is distributed as GPL-compatible Open
Source (LGPL and BSDL); AFAIK that would be the first time Microsoft used
such code in one if its products.


PointedEars

 

[Joost Diepenmaat]

In a way I hope they wouldn't. There are enough different DOMs to consider
already; I don't think we really need MS WebKit to make our lives even more
interesting. Besides, Apple WebKit is distributed as GPL-compatible Open
Source (LGPL and BSDL); AFAIK that would be the first time Microsoft used
such code in one if its products.

MS uses at least some BSD-licenced code in their products, and has done
for quite a while - most famously, windows includes parts of the BSD
networking code.

For some insights: http://kerneltrap.org/OpenBSD/The_BSD_License

 

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

MS uses at least some BSD-licenced code in their products, and has done
for quite a while - most famously, windows includes parts of the BSD
networking code.

So, given the history of Windows, I presume that would be licensed under the
original, 4-clause GPL-incompatible version of the BSDL, and certainly not
under the (L)GPL. I don't think that it is possible to implement WebKit
partially, so this would indeed be the first time MS used free software in
one of its products. Unless, of course, we end up with MS WebKit where the
free parts are rewritten as Closed Source.


PointedEars