Microsoft has created quite a stir by releasing a software package that prohibits use of the software with “potentially viral software” (meaning open source software). This provoked an interesting thread on the FSB mailing list. It seems to me that the license terms described in the article are nothing but a publicity stunt. Microsoft has been referring to the GPL as viral for months now, and by referring to it (and other less restrictive open source licenses) as viral in an official sense, they’re hoping to get other people to latch onto that false characterization as well. It’s cheap and dirty, but it’s to be expected.