Samba devs access MS Windows code

According to NewsFactor:

Microsoft Relevant Products/Services has entered into a licensing agreement with the nonprofit Protocol Freedom Information Foundation (PFIF) under which the software giant will be providing developers working on the Samba file and printing system with the information they need to ensure interoperability between their open-source software and Windows.

Essentially, the agreement gives the Samba team access to Microsoft specifications for the protocols in the Work Group Server Protocol Program and allows the Samba team to create, use, and distribute implementations.

Details on: Samba Gains Access to Microsoft Code

I do hope that it would speed up the development of Samba so that users will have a better experience of working in an environment with computers running on different operating systems. I know what it’s like to have difficulty accessing data on another computer running Windows and vice versa and we end up sending some files via email because of that.

Will this be a good thing for us Linux users? I hope so! Of course part of me is still wary because Microsoft might do something that would impede development. You never know…