Microsoft might go open source, according to top executive

REDMOND, Wash., April 5 (UPI) -- Microsoft may one day be open source software, according to one of the company's executives.

Open source software allows users to change how programs work and see the code that runs them.

Mark Russinovich, the CTO of Microsoft's Azure Cloud platform, spoke at ChefCon recently, which is a meeting largely focusing on open source software.

"It's definitely possible," Russinovich said, when asked if Microsoft would go open source. "Every conversation you can imagine about what should we do with our softwareopen versus not-open versus serviceshas happened," he said later.

Russinovich asked the crowd, made up of hundreds of coders, if they used Microsoft, and only one said yes, according to Wired. Coders tend to prefer Linux, because it's open source and can be manipulated. Russinovich also said making Microsoft open source software would require "rocket scientists and three months to set up" because it's so complicated.

Microsoft has been under the leadership of Satya Nadella for 16 months, and the company has seen many changes from when Bill Gates was running it.

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Microsoft might go open source, according to top executive