The programs range from complex instructions for displaying pop-up windows to a 36-line memory-management utility from the open-source game Rooms of Doom that software writers love because it's more compact than the 72-line alternative.

FORBES: Code Inspector

Another new pinball manufacturer, Spain-based Quetzal Pinball, has made the software that controls its first game open source.

BBC: Flipping heck: Is pinball about to stage a recovery?

Some now fear Microsoft could play that game after open-source software distributor Novell (nasdaq: NOVL - news - people ) struck a sales and marketing pact with Microsoft last year.

FORBES: Microsoft's Protection Racket?