Microsoft recently released an Alpha version of their open source content management sample, Oxite. You will find the system available under the Microsoft Public Licence as well as the CodePlex website.
Primarily described as a blogging platform, Oxite also pitches the platform as being a capable content management system to develop just about any type of site you wish. Microsoft claim that:
‘Oxite provides you with a strong foundation you can build upon - pingbacks, trackbacks, anonymous or authenticated commenting (with optional moderation), gravatar support, RSS feeds at any page level, support for MetaWebLog API (think Windows Live Writer integration made easy), web admin panel, support for Open Search format allowing users to search your site using their browser’s search box, and more - so, you can spend time on designing a great experience.’
However, with Oxite being an ASP.NET application means that those hosting services that run Linux servers will encounter a setback as these can not run ASP.NET, leaving several potential users disappointed.
Oxite may not yet rival the likes of Wordpress or Typepad, but the platform must surely be stable and powerful enough, especially for multiple blog sites, given that Microsoft uses Oxite to run it own Mix Online site.