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Microsoft Open Source PHP Windows News

Microsoft Finally Certifies an Open Source Web App 87

Posted by timothy from the where's-your-hall-pass-professor dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft has caught up with the fact that open source web-based software exists, today announcing an open source project written in PHP is the first 'Certified for Windows' software that (a) follows an OSI-approved license and (b) runs via a webserver rather than operating as a native Windows executable. The software in question is SilverStripe CMS, free software released under a BSD license, that is used to build and manage websites. Certification entails a third-party performing various tests and audits on the software and giving it the green light. If other open source projects can follow suit, this will be another step in getting business folk to see that open source is ready for enterprise use. And heck, maybe even a .NET application could now seek to be certified!"
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Microsoft Finally Certifies an Open Source Web App More

Microsoft Finally Certifies an Open Source Web App

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  • Tonight On Bizzaro World News ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Zero__Kelvin ( 151819 ) on Tuesday November 16, 2010 @11:52PM (#34251610) Homepage

    "If other open source projects can follow suit, this will be another step in getting business folk to see that open source is ready for enterprise use."

    Maybe someday Apache on Linux will be the most popular web server, and HP, IBM, Oracle, and the other big companies will start offering Linux solutions!

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by FoolishOwl ( 1698506 )

      There's a weird sort of proprietary software fan who always reacts with surprise when learning that some major corporation or government agency uses FLOSS. Even Microsoft uses FLOSS and Linux on some projects, though it doesn't much like to advertise that fact.

      • Re:Tonight On Bizzaro World News ... (Score:4, Informative)

        by pinkushun ( 1467193 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @02:49AM (#34252118) Journal

        ... and they rave and tell everyone that it's the greatest thing how Microsoft has "innovated" and "implemented" this idea, meanwhile they are just underexposed under the cover of Microsoft's "secure and secluding" hand.

        It happened when MS adopted JQuery, and FastCGI, and no doubt many projects yet to come.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by gusmao ( 712388 )
        Microsoft actually lost a golden opportunity when hey treatead open source the way they did. There will always be demand for proprietary and open source, IBM got that right.

        Microsoft on the other hand, decided to try to destroy open source and bury it like it did with other companies before (failing to see that this was a grassroot, difuse movement), basically alienating one generation of developers. Not simple developers mind you, but the superstars, the trend-setters, the guys who write tech-blogs, foun

        • Microsoft actually lost a golden opportunity when (t)hey treated open source the way they did....
          Microsoft on the other hand, decided to try to destroy open source and bury it like it did with other companies....
          All of them are dead set against Microsoft and no amount of certification is going to change that now.

          Anyone who suggests, believes or tries to state the above is not true, needs to research the facts as many of us have...they are out there if you care to look for them. I understand that some do not.

          Pretty much sums it up and hits the nail on the head for my friends and I.

          I have yet to see a single company that has done business with Microsoft, except perhaps a couple of hardware manufacturers (but even they are unhappy and complain from time to time) that are still viable businesses after 2, 3 or 4 ye

        • Microsoft actually lost a golden opportunity when hey treatead open source the way they did. There will always be demand for proprietary and open source, IBM got that right.

          Microsoft on the other hand, decided to try to destroy open source and bury it like it did with other companies before (failing to see that this was a grassroot, difuse movement), basically alienating one generation of developers. Not simple developers mind you, but the superstars, the trend-setters, the guys who write tech-blogs, found innovative start-up and become managers and CIOs in big companies later on.

          All of them are dead set against Microsoft and no amount of certification is going to change that now.

          So there are no good developers using Microsoft now? None at all? I imagine quite a few people here would disagree with that arrogant over-simplified brain fart.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Tibia1 ( 1615959 )
      It seems as though HP891 has entered the game, and is pumping out 3292 lines of open code, and is now approaching level 33 in the newest MMO. Why not make people write code for an MMO? Patented.

  • Another troll in the summary (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gadget_Guy ( 627405 ) * on Tuesday November 16, 2010 @11:54PM (#34251622)

    And heck, maybe even a .NET application could now seek to be certified!

    .NET applications have been certified for years. Spend a couple of minutes on Google and you will find examples for both the server platform [windowstricks.org] and the desktop edition [creativedocs.net].

    As for SilverStripe, I imagine the reason that open source software would be rare on the list of certified products is that there are costs involved with doing it, and the kind of audience who generally use open souce products probably don't care a damn about any official "certified" logo.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by BrokenHalo ( 565198 )
      and the kind of audience who generally use open souce products probably don't care a damn about any official "certified" logo.

      Got it in one. Microsoft's certification only means something to people who have a problem with self-esteem:

      "We, Microsoft, do solemnly certify that the bearer of this piece of recycled loo paper is fan-bloody-tastic because we say so, and anyone who disagrees can just suck on a big one."
  • Its great to see that Open Source applications are being reconized by Microsoft. I just hope people don't take these certifications too seriously. I don't have experience in an enterprise setting, but do companies not use a certain software because its not certified my Microsoft? I would assume that the software that best suits your needs would be chosen, not the one that has the title of "Microsoft Certified" because it happened to be tested by third-party tests.

    • Re: (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Embrace, extend, extinguish.

    • Re:Microsoft Certification (Score:4, Informative)

      by Gadget_Guy ( 627405 ) * on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @12:18AM (#34251728)

      do companies not use a certain software because its not certified my Microsoft?

      No. Only a small minority of software is certified, so you would be limiting your options way too much if you discounted the non-certified options. However, it is useful when comparing software to know which ones are certified, because it gives you the confidence that it will work in most environments. I have used non-administrator accounts since the days of NT4, and being certified meant that you knew the software would not have a fit as soon as it couldn't write into your C:\Windows folder.

      • "it is useful when comparing software to know which ones are certified, because it gives you the confidence that it will work in most environments."

        I've never met a tech guy interested on app (or hardware) certifications, but more interested about if it in fact works on his environment.

        Certifications and support contracts are of the interest of managers and this because the CYA factor.

    • Re:Microsoft Certification (Score:5, Informative)

      by shutdown -p now ( 807394 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @02:25AM (#34252042) Journal

      I just hope people don't take these certifications too seriously. I don't have experience in an enterprise setting, but do companies not use a certain software because its not certified my Microsoft?

      The point of certification is to make sure that software does certain things right - e.g. can run on 64-bit Windows, installs and uninstalls properly and in correct location, stores config files and other data in appropriate places (and not in e.g. "Program Files"), and doesn't do some things that are silly and potentially harmful (like catching and silently swallowing SIGSEGV). Best way to know what the certification actually means is to read the technical requirements [microsoft.com] and judge for yourself.

      • Re:Microsoft Certification (Score:4, Informative)

        by TheRaven64 ( 641858 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @06:10AM (#34252654) Journal
        And sometimes it doesn't mean quite what you think it means. For example, one of the requirements for the Designed for Windows 95 logo was running on Windows NT 4. The Runs on Windows 95 logo didn't have this requirement, so it was quite a good way of telling which programs were trying to do evil things. Amusingly, programs with the Designed For logo are (or, at least, were ten years ago) much more likely to work under WINE than ones with the Runs On logo.
      • I just spent a day of my life looking at open source CDDA ripping software (ones that take hours to get a perfect rip) for Windows .. and pretty much all of them required folder virtualization of Program Files in one way or another.

        Note to others: Take care if buying audio books from Blackstone Audio. They play fine in regular stand-alone CD players but in a CD/DVD-Rom drive (I tried 3 different drives) they have serious problems. I suppose thats why I cant find the Compact Disc Digital Audio logo anywher

        • I just spent a day of my life looking at open source CDDA ripping software (ones that take hours to get a perfect rip) for Windows

          Pretty much all modern CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives now do this same thing in hardware, and the rip takes only the normal time.

          With a drive that passes C2 error information to the ripping software, only actual error sectors need to be re-read, so you can rip at full speed unless there is an issue.

    • "Its great to see that Open Source applications are being reconized by Microsoft."

      Microsoft has never had problems "recognizing" open source apps. It's only with "copyleft" open source apps that it has a problem.

      And, lo and behold! this app is distributed under the BSD.

    • "do companies not use a certain software because its not certified my Microsoft?"

      Yes, they do. You'd be surprized by the amount of CYA present on big hierachies.

  • A cookie goes to the slashdotter that can find a exploitable vulnerability in it.

    • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Microsoft hasn't certified that the software is secure and bug free, they have certified that it behaves according to the guidelines laid out by the logo program.

      Some of those guidelines are along the lines of security best practices, true, but the logo process only measures adherence to rules, not quality.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by u38cg ( 607297 )
      Wouldn't be difficult. Silverstripe is something of a pile of steaming.

  • Unfortunately, no. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Lord Kano ( 13027 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @12:31AM (#34251772) Homepage Journal

    Certification entails a third-party performing various tests and audits on the software and giving it the green light. If other open source projects can follow suit, this will be another step in getting business folk to see that open source is ready for enterprise use.

    No, it's not. The tech savvy business people already know and those who don't get it will continue to not get it. Remember, there were people who insisted on buying IBM computers even after the Lenovo deal, because that's how PHBs and suits think.

    LK

    • Remember, there were people who insisted on buying IBM computers even after the Lenovo deal

      And why shouldn't they? Lenovo was always doing the building of IBM ThinkPads. When they purchased the rights from IBM they just changed the IBM logo to the Lenovo logo.

      For the record Microsoft has had BSD licensed code in Windows before (early TCP/IP stack).

    • And why not? Lenovo is still a decent choice for businesses. Not least of which, because they're still making good machines and because tech support calls are handled in the US instead of India.

      From consumer reports:

      Based on responses from owners of 3,685 laptop computers, Apple scored 86 points out of 100. Second place Lenovo earned a 63; third place Toshiba had 60; fourth place Dell has a 56; and HP/Compaq has a 53. Trailing far behind was Acer/Gateway/eMachines with 39.

  • Finally? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    How many "open source web apps" have been submitted and failed certification and been rejected?

    Microsoft doesn't proactively certify software, the developer of the software has to request certification. The headline makes it sound like Microsoft has been dragging their feet trying to avoid certifying such an app, but if this is the first ever submission, then they've certified 100% of applicants.

  • Congratulations SilverStripe? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ooh456 ( 122890 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @02:13AM (#34252022) Homepage

    This is surprising news for me as I have been a SilverStripe developer for a couple years now at my primary job. In case anyone is wondering, SilverStripe is a wonderful little enterprise class CMS. Miles ahead in my opinion of the usual suspects in this area ( Drupal, Joomla, WordPress). The real story here is why a small BSD licensed CMS written on the LAMP stack wants to be certified by Microsoft! I guess they want the publicity. But seriously, If you are a php developer looking for a good Object Oriented CMS written is PHP5, you should really take a couple days and check it out. You might really like it. It's not perfect by any stretch, a tad over-engineered, but did I mention it's miles ahead of everything else which calls itself a php5 CMS? Miles.

    • Re:Congratulations SilverStripe? (Score:5, Informative)

      by unbrandy ( 751649 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @05:01AM (#34252480)
      Hi, I'm Brian, the CEO of SilverStripe. Thanks for your kind words; they mean a lot. To your question of "Why?" here's the answer: it helps our business. We have many potential clients who run MS IT infrastructures. If we have this certification that greatly increases the confidence in SilverStripe in the eyes of the decision-makers in these organizations. We did not make this decision lightly. We thought a lot about how this would be perceived in the open source community. All along the way we said we'd back out if we thought our principles were being compromised. I am proud to say that we're happy with the outcome. Microsoft actually helped us (in dev resource time) to get our software to work well on the MS stack. Now we can tell more people we can work in their environment. It's truly as simple as that. :) Hope that answers your question. If anyone reading this wants to follow up, I am my first name at silverstripe dot com Thanks, Brian

      • We thought a lot about how this would be perceived in the open source community

        I know, I know!

        Community is probably amused witnessing Microsoft that comes to terms with open source because the alternative is "less windows servers".

        Free software guys are scratching their beards saying: "why on earth would anybody want to run stuff on evil untrusted stacks? it's 2010... sorry I mean it's 1262300400 since the unix epoch! bah!" and screen -r into their emacs. From a long term perspective they are right, but t

  • Come on, there must be a catch. :P

  • How many applications have Apple personally certified that they work well on Mac? Or Canonical for Ubuntu? Oh right, they don't.

    Microsoft does many things wrong, but I like how this is something Microsoft does. An application doesn't have to be certified to run, but at least you know it has gone through numerous tests if it is, such as so that it doesn't demand admin rights and use the system in inappropriate ways.

    • How many applications have Apple personally certified that they work well on Mac? Or Canonical for Ubuntu? Oh right, they don't.

      It would be nice if you only spoke things that you knew were true.

      New Applications added to the Ubuntu Software Center go through the Ubuntu Application Review Process [jonobacon.org]; Which is "a community-driven Application Review Board that is committed to providing high quality reviews of applications submitted by application authors to ensure they are safe and work well."

  • lets show everyone how meaningless this certification is and how powerful open source can be by finding as many bugs and exploits as possible in this software.

    • lets show everyone how meaningless this certification is and how powerful open source can be by finding as many bugs and exploits as possible in this software.

      What has that got to do with Microsoft certification? Do you think they are somehow promising that this means the software is 100% guaranteed bug free or something?

      Grow up.

  • Not the first open source CMS certified by MSFT (Score:5, Interesting)

    by yelvington ( 8169 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @07:58AM (#34253094) Homepage

    It's always dangerous to claim you're the first.

    http://buytaert.net/microsoft-and-drupal [buytaert.net] (2007): "Last week at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON), Microsoft and SpikeSource announced their intention to work together to certify a number of Open Source projects on the Microsoft Windows platform. According to the press release, Drupal is the first application that has been tested and certified for Microsoft Windows ..."

    See also http://www.microsoft.com/web/drupal/ [microsoft.com]

  • Wrong: Microsoft does not "certify" 3rd party apps (Score:3, Informative)

    by SplatMan_DK ( 1035528 ) on Wednesday November 17, 2010 @08:01AM (#34253118) Homepage Journal
    The post is wrong - with all due respect.

    Microsoft does not "certify" 3rd party software in any way. They document/specify HOW to get a product certified. It is up to the vendors (Microsoft Partners) to do the testing and certification if they feel it brings them business value. The certification itself is typically conducted by external companies such as Veritest/[url:lionbridge.com] (now one company).

    You can pretty much sign up as a Microsoft partner on "Registered Partner Level" for 0 USD and start the cerification process. Or spend 100 USD on a BizSpark package and get 2 years license to Visual Studio and all the MS-stuff you need to get going. The biggest cost is the actual verification by the external testing company - Microsoft is not making any money from the certification process. Their goal is to provide a method by which a software vendor can demonstrate microsoft-compliance for their product. And show that compliance by using a logo.

    In short: Anybody who feels up to it can start certifying any FOSS software that runs on a Windows box. Feel like certifying WINE? Go right ahead. Think ClamWin should have the "Works with Windows 7" logo? Go for it - the community will probably gladly help. Think the official "Certified for Windows 2008 Server" logo would look nice on the webpage of Squeezebox Server (former "Slim Server"). Download the source and get started - perhaps Logitec will help you out with resources if you ask them - and be sure to brush up on your Perl skills before your start.

    So no ... Microsoft has not "caught up" with anything. And there are already a lot of certified .NET apps that run in a browser. No big deal. Anybody can start a Microsoft certification process and the bulk of the cost goes to external testing companies.

    - Jesper

  • free software released under a BSD license,

    Ho ho HO! I see what you did there.

  • Wake me up when they certify something under GPL.

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