Many Eyes Look Through Windows

Since introducing its Shared Source Initiative (SSI) in May 2001, Microsoft has expanded the amount of source code available for review, and the number of developers reviewing it has increased. The SSI now includes 13 programs tailored so that customers, OEMs, governments, partners, professors, and researchers who would benefit from accessing Microsoft’s source code—for example, to help debug a customer’s software applications—can do so. This may begin to put Microsoft OS and development products on par with open-source competitors in that “many eyes” are reviewing the code for vulnerabilities and bugs and reporting these problems to Microsoft, thereby resulting in more secure and reliable code.

Shared Source Overview

The SSI is designed to allow non-Microsoft developers to access the source code for a variety of Microsoft products, while protecting Microsoft’s intellectual property rights. (For a summary of the various programs, the products covered, and their target audiences, see the chart “Shared Source Programs“.)