Thinking About an Open-Source Windows (Premium)

The Free Software Foundation is petitioning Microsoft to open-source Windows 7. That sounds crazy. Until you really think about it.

“We call on Microsoft to release Windows 7 as free software, and give it to the community to study and improve,” the FSF petition reads. “As there is already a precedent for releasing some core Windows utilities as free software, Microsoft has nothing to lose by liberating a version of their operating system that they themselves say has ‘reached its end’.”

Of course, since the FSF is literally crazy, it has to ruin the message by also “demanding” that Microsoft’s executives release Windows 7 as free software, provide “more proof” that they “really respects users and user freedom, and aren't just using those concepts as marketing when convenient.” It “urges” those same executives to “respect the freedom and privacy of [its] users, not simply strongarm them into the newest Windows version.”

Ah well.

While it’s easy to be turned off by the threats, we should at least consider the good that would come out of this proposal. For Windows, Microsoft, PC makers, and users. It’s a win-win.

First, Windows. In a world that is increasingly moving to open-source solutions---Linux is dominant in the cloud and Android is dominant in mobile---open-sourcing Windows would provide a longevity to the platform that, frankly, is today in peril. Many if not most Linux users on the desktop, for example, would likely drop that platform in a heartbeat to gain access to the compatibility that Windows provides.

For Microsoft, open-sourcing Windows would allow it to further reduce the costs associated with Windows, since it would now be supported by the same community that supports Linux. And it would have virtually no impact on Microsoft’s bottom line, since it could continue to offer Windows Enterprise as part of a bigger package called Microsoft 365 that also includes Office 365 and various management capabilities.

PC makers would likely move to open versions of Windows for consumers pretty aggressively to save costs, given how low-margin that business is. But that move would be a net-positive: For the first time perhaps ever, PC makers could make money---get this---selling PCs. And with a choice of distributions, PC makers could further differentiate their offerings from each other, something they’re prevented from doing by Microsoft today.

For users, this is all upside. We’d have a wide range of Windows distribution choices, just as Linux fans do, and we could pick the user experience we prefer while not worrying at all about software or driver compatibility. Even Microsoft’s own Windows offshoots---like Windows RT, Windows 10 in S mode, and Windows 10 on ARM---have not or do not offer this level of confidence today.

And this shouldn’t be Windows 7, it should be Windows. Like Windows 10. The most recent, most modern, most reliable, and safest version of Windows...

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