Andrew Savory a.savory@btinternet.com writes:
Um, yeah, let's not get bogged down in paranoia though, eh? Ignore the fact that it is Microsoft for a minute: some very bright minds have sat down and designed a new framework for internet-based applications and services.
Who? I've only seen one recognised language guru involved with the project. It mostly seems to be being advocated and evangelised by the management who have so much to lose if Microsoft don't retain their monopoly as the battle moves to service provision.
(That's the new technology bit. It's innovation.)
Not our innovation. That's the point I was making: why are we trying to implement theirs ahead of our own?
Remember that Microsoft had a significant input into SMIL and XML (and many other funky technologies and innovations).
"Significant input" does not equate to Microsoft-led and -owned.
Should we discard these lest we wind up staring at the competition? Does it matter who the competition is?
Well, I don't see acres of newsprint devoted to these other worthy technologies and I don't see the huge waste of programmer talent in their pursuit. Where Free software has got on quietly and provided sound implementations of useful techologies, it works well. Making a big noise before these projects have started is just *begging* to be knocked back.
Surely, if the competition have the cash to employ some extremely talented designers, engineers, geeks etc, shouldn't we let them pay while we steal their ideas? ;-)
Depends if they want to steal our revolution...