Microsoft Corp is expanding a program to give government organizations access to some of its tightly guarded software blueprints amid growing competition from rivals who make such source code freely available.
Beginning yesterday, Microsoft will offer more than 60 governments and international organizations the option of viewing the proprietary source code for the latest version of its ubiquitous Office software, including the Outlook e-mail program, Microsoft Word and Excel spread-sheet application.
The Redmond, Washington, company already gives the same government groups the opportunity to view the source code for its dominant Windows operating system. About 30 of them, including Russia, China, Norway and the UK, have agreed to sign the free license, said Jason Matusow, a director with Microsoft's ``shared source'' program. The US has viewed Windows source code before but is not participating in this program now, he said.
So far only one, the UK, has agreed to view the Office code, he said.
Microsoft has launched a number of efforts in recent years to give governments and certain private groups access to some source code. The moves come as an increasing number of governments and companies are looking at switching to "open source" alternatives such as Linux.
Proponents say open-source software is cheaper to run and less of a target to security threats because the underlying code -- and any improvements -- are freely shared.
Ted Schadler, an analyst with Forrester Research, said Micro-soft's government program has been successful in terms of convincing governments that it is not hiding secrets within its code, and in helping those governments feel more secure about using its products.
Now, he said, it's important for Microsoft to expand the program to Office because open-source alternatives are gaining traction, particularly with overseas customers.
While Microsoft's Office is still by far the most popular business software, analysts say more attention is being paid to products like Sun Microsystems Inc.'s StarOffice, based on the open-source OpenOffice program. Other homegrown alternatives are also popping up.
Matusow said the company has learned from open-source organizations about the value of sharing source code with trusted groups. But he said this program has more to do with providing a deeper level of information about its products, such as to improve security, than in trying to snare business from open-source competitors.
"Open source is a factor, but this is in response to those long-term discussions around transparency," he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique