Does MS have plans to make .net cross platform?
 

Since .NET is Microsoft's answer to Java, do they have any plans to follow suit and actually make a cross-platform compiler/interpreter, or are they looking at it as a "let's do something good for US" as opposed to "let's do something good for technology"?

I'm not too familiar with Mono and how well it runs under Linux, but it seems kinda risky to closely imitate one of their technologies like that. If MS were to obtain a patent for .NET, wouldn't Mono be done with?

I find it incredibly odd that they haven't done it yet, because after all, .NET itself (even basic compilers) is free under Windows. It's not that it has to be open source because Java isn't even open source. What could it be?

You'd figure that with being the way they are regarding dominance that they'd at least want to place their mark or take a step forward in the cross-platform world.

Ohhhh yes they do.

They're working on a new language that is suppose to act as an cross-platform interpreter. I would find the article if I knew what the project was named.

Microsoft was at my school campus, giving a lecture about their latest project which was about connecting various programming languages together without having to use custom programs to connect 2 different language together.

have a look at Mono

The Mono Project is an open development initiative sponsored by Ximian that is working to develop an open source, Unix version of the Microsoft .NET development platform. Its objective is to enable Unix developers to build and deploy cross-platform .NET Applications. The project will implement various technologies developed by Microsoft that have now been submitted to the ECMA for standardization.

http://www.go-mono.org/

MS submitted the technologies to the ECMA? Does that mean that MS knows about Mono and has no problems with its development?

I knew about mono and would love to use it. However, I'd hate to develop a few applications in it only to have MS turn around, patent the technology, and make those who use Mono pay some kind of royalties.. or worse, have the project go completely unsupported.

Given MS's track record with lawsuits and not wanting to share the technology, it wouldn't surprise me if this happens, but then again, this is being developed under Ximian/Novell. I'm sure they've studieds the legalities of it up and down.