Software Notebook: 'Evil Empire' Microsoft warms to open source

Software Notebook: 'Evil Empire' Microsoft warms to open source: "Spotting the Microsoft contingent at last week's LinuxWorld was as easy as singling out Darth Vader and two Stormtroopers -- literally.
Three company representatives donned 'Star Wars' costumes for an event at the convention, poking fun at Microsoft's reputation as the 'Evil Empire' in the eyes of people involved in open-source software.
The scene, and Microsoft's participation in the conference, illustrated the ongoing thaw in the company's historically icy approach to open-source communities, the software developers whose collaborative projects often rival Microsoft's own products."