MSNBC/WSJ: A Try to Be “In” With the Code

“As a huge and powerful software company, and a fierce defender
of its technology secrets, Microsoft Corp. has a hard time looking
cool on college campuses.

“That’s because brainy young programmers and graduate students
like to spend hours taking apart and examining computer software,
particularly the arcane instructions known as source code that
determine how programs work. Microsoft generally doesn?t allow
that. These days, many students are instead tinkering with
competing, “open-source” software programs such as the fast-growing
Linux operating system, which is easily accessible and free.

“So now the Redmond, Wash., company is stepping up its
campaign–and opening its wallet–to reach out to academics and
computer-sciences departments nationwide. It is part of the
company’s continuing, and often controversial, effort to counteract
the Linux craze and convert today’s soda-swilling college hackers
into tomorrow’s loyal Microsoft programmers…”

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