Microsoft has released the Hyper-V integration Linux drivers as GPL v2.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10290686-16.html

This is pretty cool news. I've been using Hyper-V, and for the most part, I like it. It isn't as full-featured as VMWare, but it is cheap, and nicer than any of the Linux solutions.

The biggest drawback has been guest OS. Suse included the driver, but any other Linux distro runs a bit slowly (and Fedora requires a hack).

Hyper-V isn't suitable for all situations, but this helps expand it.

Apache and the EFF have filed an amicus brief expressing support for Microsoft's case to revise existing patent rules.

Since the EFF and Apache are involved, you can be sure that the desired outcome is less protection for software patents.

Why would Microsoft be interested in less protection for software patents? In this case, it is because they are on the losing end: i4i is suing them for patent infringement, and keeps winning.

The specific protection is towards existing patents. Both sides agree that the burden to have a patent declared invalid should be lowered from "insane" to merely "ridiculous".

Microsoft recently changed the license for the DLR to Apache 2.0. Is this a change of heart for Microsoft?

No, not really. However, they do seem to be more "in tune" with the rest of the industry. For the past few years, they've had to fumble around with a suddenly-changing landscape while relying on good, but not great, technology.

The reality of the market is that a lot of genuinely superior software is free, as in beer and speech. If it can be said that Microsoft is a marketing company, then it can also be said that they're good at it.

Without much fanfare, MS changed the license for their Dynamic Language Runtime to Apache 2.0, as well as the IronPython and IronRuby language implementations which require it.

Conjectures for this change range from compatibility with GPLv3 to purely marketing, and from a broadening appreciation for open source to yet another attempt to crush it.