Microsoft becomes a paying member of Linux Foundation

Microsoft becomes a paying member of the Linux Foundation. The Redmond software giant will be Platinum Member of the foundation behind the development of the open source alternative to Windows. Earlier this year, Microsoft already integrated Bash into Windows.

In addition, Microsoft will get a place on the board. The American software company is pushing Azure CEO John Gossman forward, writes the Linux Foundation. Microsoft says it wants to help developers take advantage of the “shift to intelligent cloud and mobile experiences.”

The Linux Foundation is not only the driving force behind Linux, but also behind projects like Node.js and Hyperledger. Microsoft has been working with the foundation on many of the open source projects for some time. In addition, in Windows 10, the software company supports Bash, the shell of virtually all Linux distributions.

In the past, Microsoft has been hostile to Linux. For example, then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called the open source initiative “a cancer that clings to everything it touches in terms of intellectual property.” The Microsoft of the current director Satya Nadella, however, has shown itself more often in recent times as an advocate of open source projects.