RE: The future of computing

["John Taylor" <john.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Jim Damato
>
> > http://www.ximian.com/tech/mono-index.php3
> >
> > Still think so?
>
> Yes.
>
> It's not because .NET is a bad idea or because I think no one
> else would buy
> into it.  In theory, it's a neat architecture.  The concepts are sound and
> I've already read about other communities either becoming excited to join
> in, or joining in because they don't want to be left behind.

"Still think so?" was a really dumb way to phrase the question that I was
actually asking. I was referring to your suggestion that it might become an
important technology, decades from now.

My own crystal ball says that if Linux adopts the CLI, so will IBM, Sun, and
anyone else that counts. In which case, it's importance is already a
foregone conclusion.


>
> At the heart I feel .NET is an attempt by Microsoft to become the
> cornerstone of a new age of computing.  If Microsoft has the
> power to crush
> the Mono Project, don't you think they will?  That's why I said it's the
> mother of all shills.  They're angling to create an
> infrastructure that they
> own and control, and they're already marketing something that does not yet
> exist.


There is no question about their motivation. But I don't think they'll
attempt to crush it at all. Their style is "embrace and extend". If Linux is
successful with Mono, that just cements .NET's position as the foundation
technology, and MS will have jumped their biggest hurdle. After that, it's a
cakewalk.


> For me the concern is how much of .NET and HailStorm will be delivered
> initially and how much will be sold as the potential for the
> future?  And as
> this catches on will it derail existing, usable technologies as we all
> jockey for position around the promise of the next big thing?

Such is free enterprise. The alternative is to regulate the internet as a
utility, and in doing so, slow the pace of progress to a crawl. Mind you,
I'm not entirely opposed to a world where I wouldn't have to spend every
waking hour on matters related to IT.

>
> Of course, that's just my opinion -- I could be wrong...
>

It's enough to be aware of what's going on around us, and to plan
accordingly.


-john

+---
| This is the Midrange System Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---