I'm sorry I didn't really mean to frame this as open vs close source; but more on the bsd vs nt plane.
Compiling/porting C or C++ code on any bsd-derived or unix inspired platform is a lot easier than crossing over to windows IMHO, because of the WINNT kernel and the legacy of the prior oses.
I think MS's force is precisely in Office Exchange etc -- business user facing stuff. The rest is a cost. XBox Zune etc. They should have embraced and extended(forked) the android kernel, (the boot to gecko firefox os approach) for these; it would have been a lot less expensive to have a foothold in those markets.
Compiling/porting C or C++ code on any bsd-derived or unix inspired platform is a lot easier than crossing over to windows IMHO, because of the WINNT kernel and the legacy of the prior oses.
I think MS's force is precisely in Office Exchange etc -- business user facing stuff. The rest is a cost. XBox Zune etc. They should have embraced and extended(forked) the android kernel, (the boot to gecko firefox os approach) for these; it would have been a lot less expensive to have a foothold in those markets.