Microsoft vs Open Source Software

Lately there has been some talk about .Net framework becoming open source. .Net is Microsoft’s server-side client that is used in building web applications, among other things. Apparently, Microsoft’s choice to open source some of its software is a pretty big deal. They are know as the king of proprietary software.

So why is this interesting to me at all? I used to be all about Microsoft. It was what I had access to at work. I became a wizard at Access and reporting diva with Excel. SQL server management studio was my friend. I even took myself to SQL Saturday and joined PASS. I don’t regret that time, or those choices. I don’t hate Microsoft. But this was my exposure to software development before the Iron Yard. Before I discovered open source development. The difference?….for me is that, Open Source stuff is just more fun.

Microsoft’s world seems more corporate. More stody, and somehow older. The developers seem more “professional” and the environment is more traditional. Not that there is anything wrong with all that. But open source isn’t like that. The developers are young(at least they seem this way), hip, and prioritize collaboration. There is an element of freedom that comes along with this community. Plus, the community seems more organic. The developers that use open source software seem to do it cause they want to, not because its simply what their company uses. That makes the environment seem more fun to be apart of.

I don’t know if I will ever completely abandon my Microsoft roots. I am interested in learning more, no matter what the language or platform. Plus I am still quite interested in Microsoft’s Azure. I never got to really put my toe in that water. But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that tying myself to the Microsoft stack will be the best move, simply because it is limiting due to its proprietary nature. I understand that some believe that that makes it a superior product. I am too young in my career to truly know the answer to that. I can say that I didn’t switch into software development to be boring, stody, or old. I could have done that on the path that I was on.

I became a developer to both solve problems, and have fun while doing it. So far, that experience has been exclusive the the open source software community. So I will rock on with that, and check on Microsoft from time to time. I wonder there will come a time when open source rules and proprietary drools…or are we there already?