Slashdot Mirror


Microsoft Vs. TestDriven.NET

Erebus writes "Jamie Cansdale released a free addin to Visual Studio back in 2004 to help developers build unit tests. His only problem was, he enable his addin for all versions of VS - including the Express addition which isn't suppose to support addins. After over a year of trying to talk with Microsoft and understand how and why he was in violation of their license agreement, during which they would never explain specifically which clause in the license was being violated, they sent the lawyers after him and pulled his MVP status. To top it all off, Jamie is actually a Java developer by day — his addin was originally developed just as a hobby project. A full account is available on his blog, including all email correspondence he had with Microsoft and the now 3 letters received from Microsoft lawyers. The lead product manager for Visual Studio Express has responded to Jamie's posts."

5 of 418 comments (clear)

  1. This is not the free we know about by obender · · Score: 0, Troll

    It was a small miracle getting Express to be available both for free and for commercial use for customers
    I would like to remind Fernandez in the unlikely case he reads slashdot that free means:
    • The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
    • The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
    • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
    • The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
    All MS has done was to let people make limited use of the software without paying.
  2. Re:Found their ethos by Evil+Adrian · · Score: 0, Troll

    retarded anti-microsoft posts like this are the reason this site sucks.

    and now more retards will mod me down.

    no add-ins to the express versions. that's part of the license. it's not unreasonable. you people just like to bitch for the sake of bitching. ugh.

    --
    evil adrian
  3. Re:But is it illegal? by bitserf · · Score: 0, Troll

    Mod parent up. I can't believe that they'd be so stupid to ship it with the functionality enabled, and then raise a stink when some plugins load in it *and* then try to legally strong-arm a developer instead of releasing a patch.

    Hello VS team, there is this feature called #if in C#, #ifdef in C++, you should look into it. Also, you should work on your developer communication skills. We actually have brains and don't mindlessly believe the drivel you spout.

    Every time I hear stuff like this, I wish I didn't develop for their platforms in my day job, indirectly supporting them, and look forward to finishing my degree and working at a startup built on OSS.

  4. A revised letter to hobbyist! :-) by RoadWarriorX · · Score: 0, Troll

    An Open Letter to Hobbyists

    To me, the most critical thing in the software market right now is the lack of good Windows software. Without good software and an owner who can afford it, a 3GHZ computer is wasted. Can cheap, quality software be written for a user's market?

    A few years ago, Jamie Cansdale, expecting test-driven development to expand, developed TestDriven.NET. Though the initial work took only a couple of months, the he has spent most of the last year documenting, improving and adding features to TestDriven.NET. Now we have 2.5, 2.6, and 2.7. The value of the time invested well exceeds $4,000,000,000,000,000.

    The feedback we have gotten from the millions of people who say they are using TestDriven.NET has all been positive. Two surprising things are apparent, however, 1) Most of these "users" never liked .NET, and 2) The real value of Microsoft's crippled products is only $2.

    Why is this? As the majority of hobbyists know, most of you know why Microsoft sucks. They know Microsoft must be paid for software, but hobbyist need something extensible. Who cares if the people who worked on the original products at Microsoft never think of it first?

    Is this fair? One thing Microsoft does not allow people to do is make improvements on their own crippled software. Hobbyist don't make a lot of money extending software. There is no royalty paid to them for the documentation, the debugging and the overhead make coding fun. One thing Microsoft does is prevent good software from being written. Who can afford their crippled software? What software developer can put 3-man years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product and not make it user extensible? The fact is, no one besides the hobbyists invested a lot of time in Microsoft software. We have written WinAPI, and are writing COM and .NET code, but there is very little incentive to continue to use your expensive software. Most directly, the thing you do is alienate users and developers.

    What about the guys who like your software? Aren't they allowed making money, too? Yes, but most of those may lose out in the end. They are the ones who hate Microsoft products the most, because they really know how much it sucks.

    I would appreciate replies from any one who wants to give up, or has a suggestion or comment. Just write to me here at slashdot.org. Nothing would please me more than being able to allow Microsoft to die and deluge the market with better software.

  5. Re:why not? by killjoe · · Score: 0, Troll

    In what way is a purposefully crippled application which can never be extended by plug ins "outstanding". Outstanding compared to notepad maybe but outstanding compared to eclipse?

    Only if you are a MS zealot I suppose.

    --
    evil is as evil does