June 1, 2001
Steve Ballmer calls Linux "a cancer"
In a Chicago SunSun Microsystems — maker of Java, Solaris, and SPARC; acquired by Oracle in 2010.-Times interview, MicrosoftThe software giant behind Windows, Office, Azure, and Xbox — founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. CEO Steve Ballmer attacks the GPLGNU General Public License — a widely used open-source license that requires derivatives to stay open. and open-source licensing.
Quote
“Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.”
What it was for
Ballmer was arguing that copyleftA license approach requiring derivative works to remain open — the GPL is the classic example. 'infects' proprietary code — a framing open-source advocates still push back on. The quote marked peak MicrosoftThe software giant behind Windows, Office, Azure, and Xbox — founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.–Linux hostility before AzureMicrosoft's cloud platform — virtual machines, storage, databases, and managed application services. embraced open sourceSoftware whose source code is freely available to use, modify, and redistribute..
People
- Steve Ballmer — ceo
Companies
- Microsoft
Why it's here
The most inflammatory corporate quote of the open-source wars.
Why it mattered
It galvanized the free-software community and defined MicrosoftThe software giant behind Windows, Office, Azure, and Xbox — founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.'s public stance for years.
What it solved
MicrosoftThe software giant behind Windows, Office, Azure, and Xbox — founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. was defending its licensing model against government open-source adoption.
Media
ImageSteve BallmerSteve_ballmer_2007_outdoors2.jpg: Martin Olsson (username 'mnemo' on en/sv wikipedia and commons, martin@minimum.se). derivative work: Off2riorob (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- Steve Ballmer named Microsoft CEOJanuary 13, 2000
- Linus Torvalds announces LinuxAugust 25, 1991