Microsoft Buys Winternals Software

Will Sysinternals Stay Free?

Published on July 18, 2006 By Zoomba In WinCustomize News

CNet News is reporting today that Microsoft announced the acquisition of Winternals Software, makers of the popular Sysinternals system utility tool. Microsoft hopes to add the Winternals staff to further strengthen its operating system development team.

While no information on price has been discussed, part of the deal that was revealed is that Winternals co-founder Mark Russinovich has been named a technical fellow.

Despite Microsoft acquiring the Sysinternals tool, online community as well as several other commercial products, the acquisition reportedly took place mainly to hire the Winternals cofounders.

Comments

ZubaZ

on Jul 18, 2006

As long as I get to keep my debug viewer free, we're cool.

It would be nice if some of the free tools offered were incorporated into Vista. Those gues knew more about how Windows worked than MS did sometimes.

Mordalo

on Jul 18, 2006

This is terrible news. Sysinternals' freeware apps are some of the best out there, and ERD Commander has saved my butt more times than I care to count.

Now they've been assimilated by Microsoft. Wonderful news. Joy of joys.

I'd better make sure I've got the latest GOOD versions of Process Explorer, et al, before Microsoft screws them up.

ZubaZ

on Jul 18, 2006

Now they've been assimilated by Microsoft. Wonderful news. Joy of joys.

That's the response I'd expect from /., not here.

It looks like Mark got himself a nice package, will be able to influence MS, and the OS most people here use will get some better tools incorporated into them.

If you trusted Mark to make good apps (and choices) before, trust him to do the same now.

{But it wouldn't hurt to grab all their free software now, while you still can

}

{I wonder if Best Buy would have been so quick to steal ERD if MS had been teh owner . . .?}

Mordalo

on Jul 19, 2006

Actually, it's happened before.

There've been several excellent applications created by smaller companies that have been bought out by larger corporations, and those great apps have been either become bloated pieces or dung or completely dumped.

And did you go to Sysinternals website yesterday? It was so slow...I think everyone else had that idea.

I'm not arguing with you, and I'm not starting any sort of flame war. I'm just concerned and worried that some apps we've had that have worked before won't be there...

Daiwa

on Jul 23, 2006

Slightly OT, but I use a whitelist spam filter called Qurb which is quite nice & very simple to use, and it was regularly updated, as often as 2 or 3 times a week, in response to issue- & bug-reports which it vigorously solicited from users; the developers were just on it all the time. Once they were bought by Computer Associates, development slammed to a complete and total halt - it hasn't been touched since CA took it over, going on 2 years now. At the time, there was an unresolved conflict with AVG antivirus which was being worked on - obviously, the conflict remains unresolved.

There is always reason to be concerned when an acquisition like this takes place. Mark may be a great guy and genius at what he does, but that guarantees nothing - someone else will now set the priorities and goals for those developers.

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