Apache += Microsoft (sponsorship)

Another OSCON announcement: Microsoft is joining Google and Yahoo as a Platinum Sponsor of the Apache Software Foundation.  That means an additional $100K a year: small-change to MS, but a big benefit to a volunteer-based nonprofit organisation.

This seems to fit Microsoft’s general direction of increasing friendliness to opensource organisations such as ASF who do not pose an ideological or legal problem for them.  This is a progression from past deals such as sponsoring ApacheCon (Dublin 2006, IIRC) and offering free MSDN membership to Apache developers.

Thank you Microsoft.