Author: JT Smith
ZDNet interviews Microsoft’s Gates and asks him about a variety of subjects, including Microsoft’s view of Linux and Open Source. “There is this whole history that free software is developed often in the
academic environment, where basically government money funded that work. And then
commercial work is done. TCP/IP came out of the university environment. Now, 90 percent of the
implementations you buy are commercially tuned and supported. And then the companies that do
that commercial work pay taxes, create jobs, so the government keeps funding more research,
primarily in universities. So that ecosystem where you have free software and commercial
software, and customers always get to decide which they use, that’s a very important and
healthy ecosystem.”
academic environment, where basically government money funded that work. And then
commercial work is done. TCP/IP came out of the university environment. Now, 90 percent of the
implementations you buy are commercially tuned and supported. And then the companies that do
that commercial work pay taxes, create jobs, so the government keeps funding more research,
primarily in universities. So that ecosystem where you have free software and commercial
software, and customers always get to decide which they use, that’s a very important and
healthy ecosystem.”
