OStatic

Is Moblin, the open source mobile operating system initially launched by Intel and now overseen by the Linux Foundation, a potential thorn in Microsoft's side? It seems from Microsoft's own stance toward the early stage netbook- and smartphone-focused OS, that it is not. There are also reports that Microsoft may in fact favor Moblin among Linux-based operating systems aimed at computers that Windows might otherwise run on.

Last week, at the Intel Developer Forum conference, Microsoft's Silverlight team demonstrated the Silverlight 3 web application framework running on both Windows 7 and Moblin Atom chip-based devices.? The announcement from the Silverlight team was very ecumenical, describing the Novell-sponsored open source Moonlight implementation of Silverlight as aimed at the broad range of Linux platforms, while Silverlight 3 will be especially adept at running on Moblin. What is Microsoft's real stance toward Moblin?

Microsoft is scrambling to counter conclusions made in a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, which suggest that India could save $2 billion if open source software solutions hit 50 percent adoption across its economy in 2010. As a story from New Delhi, running in the Business Standard reports, even if isolated categories of open source software such as server operating systems and antivirus software see broad adoption, the cost savings could be substantial.

Microsoft is firing back with its usual claims about support and other issues representing hidden costs that actually make open source more expensive than its proprietary software. There is an interesting footnote to the war of words, though: Red Hat was the sponsor of the study. Whose numbers are correct?

Microsoft has co-founded and launched its new CodePlex Foundation, which it will supply the initial funding for, and is focused on open source. According to the foundation's site, the non-profit organization will be providing a forum in which best practices and shared understanding can be established by a broad group of participants, both software companies and open source communities.

Sam Ramji (shown), senior director of platform strategy at Microsoft, and a noted open source advocate, announced the initiative and appears to be currently leading it. However, OStatic has heard reports that Ramji is leaving Microsoft, although there are also reports that he is only moving from Microsoft to preside over the new foundation. At the time of this writing, there is no confirmation from Microsoft on that point, but we have reached out to Sam and company spokespeople, and will update. Here are more details.

Noted blogger and novelist Cory Doctorow has posted a diatribe against cloud computing, in which he says the main attraction of the cloud to investors and entrepreneurs is the idea of making money from you, on a recurring, perpetual basis, for something you currently get for a flat rate or for free. In a post called Young man yells at cloud, ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn flatly disagrees with him, pointing out that the many headaches and screw-ups that go along with using computers are abstracted in the cloud, managed by others.

Meanwhile, The VAR Guy notes that Red Hat Executive VP Paul Cormier has warned the attendees of Red Hat Summit that Microsoft has its eyes on lock-in--not openness--with its Azure cloud platform. Is the cloud evil?