the case against .NET

First off, I’m a big fan of Robert Scoble. His blog has a high signal-to-noise ratio, and he’s generally very readable. Above all, the fact that Microsoft allows/encourages him to blog has been largely responsible for the much more positive perception of Microsoft now held by many people.
However, someone needs to take issue with [...]

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Dave Winer reports on a couple of patent applications from Google and Amazon.
The Google application is particularly bizarre. It covers the inclusion of targeted ads in syndicated feeds (e.g. RSS). Even if Google is granted this patent, it’s impossible to see how they could defend it while maintaining their “not evil” image.
It’s [...]

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Scoble has been asking whether venture capitalists (VCs) are investing in .NET developments.
This is a bizarre, geeky kind of question. A good VC won’t care whether the project rests on .NET or any other platform. He’ll be looking for innovation leading to return on investment.
So where does .NET offer the potential of productivity [...]

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I had my worst ever software installation experience a couple of days ago. I’d previously thought that Visual Studio .NET installation was pretty bad, simply because it’s so painfully slow. However, the VS.NET setup process is a model of excellence when set alongside that for Borland Delphi 2005.
In mitigation, I should say that [...]

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So Longhorn is to be “Windows Vista”.
Actually, I think this has a nice sound to it. My dictionary, however, says a vista is “a long narrow view”. I think many would agree that Microsoft’s biggest current problem is its narrowness of vision.

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Paul Gustavson makes the point that users aren’t asking for .NET apps. If they want a Windows program then they’re quite happy with the Win32 API. If they want cross-platform then Java dominates.
The key point is that the Win32 API remains Microsoft’s unique selling point. It’s easily the most used API, and [...]

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A neighbour found this bird trapped in his garage this evening. He carried it to a nearby tree, where it ate hungrily and quickly regained strength.
This is the first goldcrest I’ve seen in local gardens in 8 years living in this area.
(Photo taken with Casio Exilim EX-Z750, default settings.)

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The blogosphere is going wild with the news that Boeing invited a bunch of bloggers to try out its “new” onboard wireless Internet access service. See, for example:

Scobleizer: Boeing Blogging

buzznovation: Blogging the Stratosphere..part II…Connexion rocks…

Let’s be clear that Boeing’s service is not new: several airlines have been offering this for many months.
You may have noticed [...]

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Steve Teixeira, Microsoft’s Director of Partner Strategy for Visual C++, has some advice to Visual C++ developers on choosing between MFC and .NET WinForms.
The thing to notice here is that, for the most part, Microsoft has always chosen to use neither MFC nor WinForms for its own application development.
Steve suggests we use .NET for XML, [...]

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Microsoft recently released a free “RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP”. Sounds good, you might think - just what a serious photographer needs!
Then you notice that it only supports images from Canon and Nikon cameras. Maybe not quite so good then.
Assume you have a Canon or Nikon camera; you decide to [...]

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