Stephen Shankland exposes a new controversy between GPL and Microsoft, this time focusing on how 'third-party developers can use Common Internet File Sharing (CIFS), a protocol developed by Microsoft that specifies how Windows PCs share files with servers'. Writing at CNET, Shankland provides a detailed look at the brewing discord and the possible implications for developers using GPL code . . .

“Microsoft has opened a new chapter in its long-running dispute with open-source software developers — and it could have antitrust implications . . . “

” . . . Microsoft requires programmers to sign an agreement that prohibits using information in the document when building software governed by the General Public License (GPL). Among the products affected by the restriction is Samba, widely used software that competes with file sharing technology in Microsoft's Windows operating system. Samba uses CIFS to communicate with client systems . . .”

” . . . The dispute's ramifications also extend well beyond the group of self-appointed programming hobbyists who launched the open-source movement. Microsoft business partners IBM, Hewlett-Packard and others have embraced Samba and other open-source packages; Sun Microsystems is adding open-source efforts to its increasingly bitter struggle against Microsoft; and even Intel, a stalwart Microsoft ally, has invested in open-source Linux companies . . . “

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