Microsoft announced today that it will make the source code for its .Net Framework freely available under its Shared Source license, essentially opening the source, rather than open sourcing, their popular development platform.

For those who accept the Microsoft Reference License -- the MS-RL, certainly not to be confused with the MS-PL or the MS-CL -- the source code will be available for download, but not modification.

The significance of this? Andrew Brust, Chief of New Technology at Twenty-Six New York, tells eWeek, "Being able to step through and review the source should provide much better insight into how the .Net Framework libraries are implemented, and in turn enable developers to build better applications and make even better use of them."

Brust tips his hand a bit more in a quote on ZDNet: "I think [Microsoft] are realizing that such an approach is a hearts/minds winner and the downside is very low. If you love people (developers, in this case), set them free. I think that’s good advice, and good business."

What this will mean for nonprofit technology remains to be seen, but it is at least an incremental step toward greater transparency.

For those interested in the more esoteric details, Mary Jo Foley, at ZDNet, provides a good overview.