I'm a Windows developer and, I have to say, I think it's a great platform. I've developed on and for other platforms. Nothing has the same high-quality tools, especially for GUI developers. Silverlight/WPF are amazing and, I also have to say, they aren't going anywhere. Sure they may be renamed, rebranded as WinRT but that technology isn't going away any time soon. LINQ is a dream to program in and after using it, using a language that doesn't support LINQ is just depressing. What's keeping me on Windows? Why would I go anywhere else?
That's strange because I got the exact opposite reaction from my friends, family and customers. Ordinary Joes could barely tell the difference between Windows XP and Windows 7. They both have tiny little icons, a round Windows logo in the lower left corner, and a big empty screen in the middle. But windows 8 really jumps out to them. Average people, and I'm talking 5-year-olds, non-techie college kids, cashiers, bank tellers, etc. seem to think that Win8 is intuitive, natural, easy to use, and some have even called it sexy. Granted, I haven't shown my BUILD tablet to thousands of people yet, just a handful.
I don't quite understand why we need crowdsourcing to come up with 3D printable models. Can't we take the 1000's of existing 3D models currently used in CAD programs and video games and convert them into a format that can be printed?
Kill it. Every other language has evolved quite a bit since Javascript came on the scene. I want strong typing, OOP, properties, reflection, LINQ, parallel support, threads, powerful collections (including concurrent collections) lambda expressions, dynamic language features. Admittedly it has some of these, but I want them all.
LINQ is awesome! I agree that there are some subtle differences between the queries that you would write in LINQ and the queries you would write in Slashem. The great thing about LINQ is that it's available right there in your main C# codebase and you can use it to query XML files, databases, and even your own arrays and collections of objects. It has changed how I code and drastically improved my coding efficiency.
I've been using LINQ for years and it's great. It's just like this Slashem concept but it's built-in to a manistream language: C#/VB. With LINQ you write your queries inline with the rest of your C# or VB code. They're not in a quoted string or separate resource file. You get the full syntax highlighting and intellisense as well as the red squiggly underline when you've done something wrong. They are type-safe and they play nicely with the language's collection classes. LINQ-to-Entities and LINQ-to-SQL are the variants that query databases (MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, etc.). There are other variants like LINQ-to-XML and LINQ-to-Objects that can perform traditional relational queries against XML files or against your own objects and collections. You can mix and match these types of LINQ queries effortlessly. It's so powerful, easy to read and convenient that it has fundametally changed how I code.
No his signature is correct. There seems to be a perception that Google is somehow an "open-source corporation." That's just not true. Google is no more open source than Oracle/Sun. Sure, they're happy to ride on the backs of other people's effort, but they contribute very little to the community. At lease MS has the guts to make their own programming languages, IDE, database, web server, cloud system, dektop and mobile OS and game console instead of stealing these products from open source projects.
Have you ever actually tried to use that "smash hit" Android OS? It's a terrible user experience. It's stuffed with all kinds of ugly, buggy, crashing apps. There is no consistency and no style. It's just a jumble of haced together code with no sense of design. I dropped my DroidX in one week and now I'm a happy WP7 user.
They are all completely closed, even Google. There is no difference. Just because Google pays lip service to open source by using other people's products doesn't mean they care a lick about the community. Google is not your friend.
What about the OS I started working on in my garage? That's still completely untethered to any manufacturer. Of course, I've only written about 12 lines of code so far...
Something tells me Microsoft would jump at the chance to give the same deal to any of the other manufacturers who are interested in accepting it. That sounds pretty equal to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Andy never said anything about "open source." He said the platform was "open". How do you get "open source" from the word "open"? Neither Google or Microsoft make any of their core stuff open source. They both have quite a few libraries and projects that are licenced under various open source licences, but that is the exception not the rule. I don't understand why that confuses people.
This is exactly why plugins (or plug-ins) were invented. I would much rather code this up in Flash or Silverlight and have it run reliably and predictably on all browsers than have to write a bunch of one-offs. HTML5 was a giant distraction, in my opinion.
It just doesn't work to have two guys crammed in a cubicle huddled around a monitor. It's just like the human eye that sees by quickly moving about. The person who is 'driving' is the only one with any ability to understand the code. The other person quickly zones out. Meanwhile, the person who is driving gets self-conscious about how fast/slow he's going so he stops thinking about the code too. If either person says anything out loud it completely destroys the other's train of thought. It devolves into a dysfunctional group-think where each person says "I'm OK with it if you are...".
For me it works much better to monitor the SVN commits and take my time to look at every line of code and work through it at my own pace.
MS completely dominates the PC market. They also dominate the corporate tools (Office) market. They are behind in the tablet and smart phone market but that won't last long. They are holding their own in the cloud and online services market.
You could make an equally long failure list for Apple and Google. You can't succeed if you don't try. More companies in all of these spaces if a good thing for consumers. I don't understand why people want MS to lose and go away. Fewer competitors is not good for anyone.
I had similar experiences trying to get a WP7 from T-Mobile when they were released. I tried to ask the sales people about the phone and they ether didn't know anything about it or they tried to persuade me not to buy it. They would say things like, "Well, trust me, you don't want a Microsoft phone." I eventually bought a Dell Venue Pro online, which I love. It's no wonder the numbers are down. The sales clerks have been using smart phones for years and only want to sell their personal favorites. MS needs to offer some sort of per-phone commission directly to the sales folks.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm a Windows developer and, I have to say, I think it's a great platform. I've developed on and for other platforms. Nothing has the same high-quality tools, especially for GUI developers. Silverlight/WPF are amazing and, I also have to say, they aren't going anywhere. Sure they may be renamed, rebranded as WinRT but that technology isn't going away any time soon. LINQ is a dream to program in and after using it, using a language that doesn't support LINQ is just depressing. What's keeping me on Windows? Why would I go anywhere else?
That's strange because I got the exact opposite reaction from my friends, family and customers. Ordinary Joes could barely tell the difference between Windows XP and Windows 7. They both have tiny little icons, a round Windows logo in the lower left corner, and a big empty screen in the middle. But windows 8 really jumps out to them. Average people, and I'm talking 5-year-olds, non-techie college kids, cashiers, bank tellers, etc. seem to think that Win8 is intuitive, natural, easy to use, and some have even called it sexy. Granted, I haven't shown my BUILD tablet to thousands of people yet, just a handful.
Since Mitt is the most likely candidate from the right I would love to hear from him (and I think he's great).
I don't quite understand why we need crowdsourcing to come up with 3D printable models. Can't we take the 1000's of existing 3D models currently used in CAD programs and video games and convert them into a format that can be printed?
Kill it. Every other language has evolved quite a bit since Javascript came on the scene. I want strong typing, OOP, properties, reflection, LINQ, parallel support, threads, powerful collections (including concurrent collections) lambda expressions, dynamic language features. Admittedly it has some of these, but I want them all.
LINQ is awesome! I agree that there are some subtle differences between the queries that you would write in LINQ and the queries you would write in Slashem. The great thing about LINQ is that it's available right there in your main C# codebase and you can use it to query XML files, databases, and even your own arrays and collections of objects. It has changed how I code and drastically improved my coding efficiency.
I've been using LINQ for years and it's great. It's just like this Slashem concept but it's built-in to a manistream language: C#/VB. With LINQ you write your queries inline with the rest of your C# or VB code. They're not in a quoted string or separate resource file. You get the full syntax highlighting and intellisense as well as the red squiggly underline when you've done something wrong. They are type-safe and they play nicely with the language's collection classes. LINQ-to-Entities and LINQ-to-SQL are the variants that query databases (MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, etc.). There are other variants like LINQ-to-XML and LINQ-to-Objects that can perform traditional relational queries against XML files or against your own objects and collections. You can mix and match these types of LINQ queries effortlessly. It's so powerful, easy to read and convenient that it has fundametally changed how I code.
No his signature is correct. There seems to be a perception that Google is somehow an "open-source corporation." That's just not true. Google is no more open source than Oracle/Sun. Sure, they're happy to ride on the backs of other people's effort, but they contribute very little to the community. At lease MS has the guts to make their own programming languages, IDE, database, web server, cloud system, dektop and mobile OS and game console instead of stealing these products from open source projects.
Have you ever actually tried to use that "smash hit" Android OS? It's a terrible user experience. It's stuffed with all kinds of ugly, buggy, crashing apps. There is no consistency and no style. It's just a jumble of haced together code with no sense of design. I dropped my DroidX in one week and now I'm a happy WP7 user.
That's right, everyone's a shill. Now let's all go back to our rooms and calm down.
Use Google for search? Why, so they can censor my results and make everything rosy? I don't think so.
I think you are talking about Google here, the wolf in sheep's clothing.
They are all completely closed, even Google. There is no difference. Just because Google pays lip service to open source by using other people's products doesn't mean they care a lick about the community. Google is not your friend.
Apparently you do. You're here reading this article and commenting, aren't you? Seems to me like you can't get enough of the micro stuff.
You wish.
What about the OS I started working on in my garage? That's still completely untethered to any manufacturer. Of course, I've only written about 12 lines of code so far...
Something tells me Microsoft would jump at the chance to give the same deal to any of the other manufacturers who are interested in accepting it. That sounds pretty equal to me.
Romney in 2012!
Hey, I love my WP7. No "cruft" here. Meanwhile my Chrome browser won't stop crashing on CentOS so I'm ditching it.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Andy never said anything about "open source." He said the platform was "open". How do you get "open source" from the word "open"? Neither Google or Microsoft make any of their core stuff open source. They both have quite a few libraries and projects that are licenced under various open source licences, but that is the exception not the rule. I don't understand why that confuses people.
This is exactly why plugins (or plug-ins) were invented. I would much rather code this up in Flash or Silverlight and have it run reliably and predictably on all browsers than have to write a bunch of one-offs. HTML5 was a giant distraction, in my opinion.
It just doesn't work to have two guys crammed in a cubicle huddled around a monitor. It's just like the human eye that sees by quickly moving about. The person who is 'driving' is the only one with any ability to understand the code. The other person quickly zones out. Meanwhile, the person who is driving gets self-conscious about how fast/slow he's going so he stops thinking about the code too. If either person says anything out loud it completely destroys the other's train of thought. It devolves into a dysfunctional group-think where each person says "I'm OK with it if you are...". For me it works much better to monitor the SVN commits and take my time to look at every line of code and work through it at my own pace.
Can't the two groups coexist? Can't we forgive and forget past offenses? Can't we get rid of that lame Bill Gates as the Borg icon?
MS completely dominates the PC market. They also dominate the corporate tools (Office) market. They are behind in the tablet and smart phone market but that won't last long. They are holding their own in the cloud and online services market. You could make an equally long failure list for Apple and Google. You can't succeed if you don't try. More companies in all of these spaces if a good thing for consumers. I don't understand why people want MS to lose and go away. Fewer competitors is not good for anyone.
I had similar experiences trying to get a WP7 from T-Mobile when they were released. I tried to ask the sales people about the phone and they ether didn't know anything about it or they tried to persuade me not to buy it. They would say things like, "Well, trust me, you don't want a Microsoft phone." I eventually bought a Dell Venue Pro online, which I love. It's no wonder the numbers are down. The sales clerks have been using smart phones for years and only want to sell their personal favorites. MS needs to offer some sort of per-phone commission directly to the sales folks.