Releasing the
source code to
NT is the only way to keep
Linux from crushing
NT. It wouldn't happen the day after, but within a year or two an
open source NT would rival Linux for stability and ease of use. Basic differences in OS design may prevent this, but open source
programmers are used to
hacking around problems when necessary.
I've always feared that M$ would figure things out and realize the strength of the open source development community. It's not something that I think is going to happen, and it would be a Good Thing if they did it right. But I could see them decommoditizing any number of protocols and standards (remember the Halloween Documents).