Re: Re(2): Re(2): The future of computing

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Naughton" <mnaughton@juddwire.com>
To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 7:12 AM
Subject: Re(2): Re(2): The future of computing


> Hi Chris,
>
> MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com writes:
> >as a Senior P/A, you may not be often charged with making such
> >choices.
>
> Actually, you might be surprised how much input I have (it's a small
> company, and titles don't actually mean a whole lot).

That's why I used the words "may not." The nice things about computers is
they can be used to generate a lot of cool titles.

> Following up on a point that Steve Richter touched on, though, I think the
> real problem may be that in many cases the recommendations don't come from
> IS professionals at all, but from managers higher up who have little (if
> any) technical experience). At my last job, the CIO came right out of
> marketing, and his main qualification was that he  had been the CEO's "Mr.
> Fix-It" for years. He went to a Micro$oft conference in 1995 and came back
> talking about how Exchange Server was going to be the base on which the
> entire corporate information infrastructure would be built (never mind
> that it didn't actually "exist" yet). At another job, the Chief Knowledge
> Officer had a chemical engineering background, and his main approach was
> to find flashy websites advertising consulting services and then bring the
> companies in to do marketing presentations. He pretty quickly decided that
> XML was the future ("'native' XML", actually), and he kept producing
> powerpoint presentations showing that as the basis for everything.
>
> This isn't a question of someone knowing one solution well and ignoring
> possible better alternatives; it's someone not really knowing much of
> anything being bowled over by hype. In my experience, it's very difficult
> to deal with these people -- they are convinced there is a simple,
> silver-bullet solution, and they are frankly bored (and threatened) by
> people who try to point out that the situation is more complicated than
> that. Are they hurting their companies? IMHO, "yes". Are they IS
> professionals? IMHO, "no". But may be they are the bigger problem. . . .

Absolutely. Guys like that are a terrible problem. I didn't mean that I had
cornered the market by discovering the only problem. What happens, I think,
is that when I rant about situations like this somehow the rant gets blown
in the wrong direction. For instance, in your example of the Microsoft
Exchange Server. If, in 1995, I had posted the same rant about how MES not
only didn't exist but that there were other, more complete, fully tested and
functional solutions already deployed in the marketplace, somehow that would
be twisted into me saying "OS ___ is better than NT" and I'm just an OS
bigot. You point out that the guy in your anecdote wasn't MIS, and I know
how often that happens and it really galls me.

But what bothers me more is when, at the same time, some guy calling himself
an MIS Professional backs up the clown who has chosen the non-existant
product over ones that exist. You and I both know that many people did build
their plans around waiting for MS to deliver their product instead of using
an existing one. IMO, this is a very difficult position to justify.

If I felt that deploying solutions on a MS product, or a Sun product, or an
Oracle product was the best idea I'd say so. When I do feel that way I do
say so. When I point out the weaknesses in one product vs. another I am
apparently being a bigot. I guess I've gotten to the point where I just
don't care.

Microsoft has made a practice of using monopoly power to force second rate
products into the marketplace often displacing higher quality competitors.
Over the last two decades this has caused the loss of much innovation and
quality. This has cheated us as consumers out of money and time.

But that is not to say that their products never get any better. Maybe XP
will be as good as OS/2 was. I doubt that it will be as good as OS/2 would
have been if market conditions had allowed it to retain support and
development. Noticing this isn't a "zealot" point of view.

I'm sorry to rant on. I pointed out Microsoft's business practices because I
wish to indicate that when I mention the sort of "low life" MIS guy who is
willing to sell a solution because it's what he can make money with rather
than one that is the best choice, it seems that these are usually on the MS
bandwagon. I feel this is because the MS bandwagon has been very good at
"harvesting" cash from their customers.

> JMHO
>
> Mike Naughton
> Senior Programmer/Analyst
> Judd Wire, Inc.
> 124 Turnpike Road
> Turners Falls, MA  01376
> 413-863-4357 x444
> mnaughton@juddwire.com
Chris Rehm
javadisciple@earthlink.net
If you believe that the best technology wins the
marketplace, you haven't been paying attention.


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