LinuxWorld.com: What Ximian's trying to accomplish with Mono

"...Is Ximian enamored of Microsoft? Hardly. "I believe that Microsoft has behaved criminally, has stifled competition." Friedman said, "I think we are calling Microsoft's bluff here. They are saying that .NET is an open system... We're going to implement an open version of it, and see how they react."

de Icaza said, ".NET is the next step towards language unification, but you have to look at this technology with cold eyes, and not let your passions be in the middle (against Microsoft, for Linux, for KDE, against GNOME, etc) or you will live a life of bitterness."

Is Mono a good idea or a disaster? I think it is a worthwhile endeavor, that choice is good, and that we need a free alternative to .NET. Free software development is ruthlessly efficient -- good ideas survive, lame ideas don't. Developers need to find Mono worthy of the sweat of their brow and users need to weigh the results. As always, the community decides."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• InfoWorld: Microsoft's bait and switch(Jul 28, 2001)
• InfoWorld: Gnome gets Mono(Jul 22, 2001)
• ZDNet UK: Linux .Net comes under threat(Jul 20, 2001)
• Ximian and Microsoft [from the Mono FAQ](Jul 17, 2001)
• Two More on Mono: Boston Globe Backgrounder and osOpinion on the LGPL(Jul 16, 2001)
• Software Uncovered.com: Unthinkable Happens Between Microsoft and Open Source(Jul 16, 2001)
• FreeDevelopers: DotGNU: .GNU to Face Down .NET (Jul 12, 2001)
• TechWeb: Microsoft Gives Blessing To Open-Source .NET, But Analyst Smells A Rat(Jul 11, 2001)
• Two More on Mono: de Icaza on Why it Pays to Embrace .NET(Jul 10, 2001)
• LinuxProgramming: GNU Announces DotGNU and GNU Mono to Replace Microsoft .NET(Jul 09, 2001)