Microsoft has halted distribution of a tool aimed at making it easier to put Windows 7 on netbooks amid allegations that the utility makes improper use of open-source code.
The software maker said on Tuesday that it has pulled down the Windows USB/DVD Tool while it investigates the issue, which was raised last week by Windows blogger Rafael Rivera on his Within Windows blog.
In his blog post, Rivera said Microsoft appears to use code from a tool called ImageMaster that is licensed under the GPLv2 open-source licence. The General Public License, like other open-source licences, allows code to be freely used by others, but has its own set of terms and conditions, such as sharing any modifications made to the code.
For more on this story, see Microsoft pulls Windows 7 download tool on CNET News.
Talkback
Not surprising. I would imagine you will find a lot of open source code in a lot of MS products, including their OS. They have a track record of using other people's IP, and not changing a single line of code, and calling it theirs. Only when they get caught do they act, but they have the best lawyers and judges money can buy, so they usually come out smelling like a rose. I don't expect this will be any different.