Joking that it hurts his eyes, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has revealed that the software giant will issue its first program that supports the open source Linux operating system, according to CNet.com Thursday. Until the announcement, Microsoft had been openly derisive about Linux, which has been identified by many tech analysts as one of the main threats to its domination of computer software. In fact, cooperating with Linux was a development that Microsoft never wanted to see. But because Linux is increasingly used to power servers and the applications they run, Microsoft has been forced into changing its Operations Manager software, which is the company's key management product for servers. The program will also add support for servers running Sun Microsystems Solaris operating systems, Ballmer said. "We will add support for non-Windows virtual machines running on our Virtual Server, including Linux," Ballmer said at Microsoft's management summit in Las Vegas, where he unveiled a beta version of the Service Pack. ---SP 0100 Local Time 2200 GMT
