A Personal Blog
Archive for March, 2004
bCentral to Die, Long Live MS SBC!
Mar 23rd
Microsoft’s bCentral service is set to expire this summer in a bold move, as part of Microsoft’s 2B$ push into the lucrative Small & Medium sized business (SMB/SME) sphere.
Taking it’s place will be Microsoft’s Small Business Center.
Key features of this move:
1. Part of the main Microsoft brand 2. An information portal 3. Expanded services (and Services); including all existing bCentral services (customers will be migrated)
This is a smart move. It gives customers direct-contact with Microsoft, pools the resources (and information) and creates an entirely new method of interaction and relationship-building.
If Microsoft can do here what it did with ISV’s and MVP’s it might just have a hit on it’s hands.
Can Java Stand for 25 Years?
Mar 23rd
Time Bray asks a great question: Can Java withstand 25 years?
probably more half of the data being crunched out in the business world is being crunched by COBOL programs on mainframes. When these systems really finally can’t be lived with any longer, the CIOs who have to replace them notice that they’re decades old. They’re smart guys who try to learn from what they observe, and they deduce that the next big piece of infrastructure is apt to be with them for a long time. “So,” they wonder, “this JES stuff (or .NET, or whatever) they’re trying to sell me, will it still be a viable platform in 25 years?”
It’s actually alarming to me. Why are we designing software and development platforms that likely can’t stand that test?
Perhaps we’re using the wrong yardstick?
Our current measurements go something like this:
1. Is it as good or better than the competition’s? 2. Does it solve a real problem? 3. Does it fill a real void? 4. Will people buy it? 5. Can we build from this platform (or to it)?
Maybe we’re missing a crucial piece: Can it stand the test of time?
This goes for Java, .NET, anything out there today. A lot of the solutions available today for development are either “necessarily ugly” (PHP, JSP) or “overly beautified” (.NET, J2EE). How about something “perfectly stable” for once?
A core language that can be developed off of, if needed, but which functions perfectly well. Does such a thing exist today? Is it being pushed by big vendors to the companies who need it? Is it being built upon and supported?
I’d like to know. I’m sure Tim would as well.
Me and Blogging…
Mar 23rd
To be honest, I don’t feel much different than yesterday.
The encouragement has been fantastic, but hasn’t given me a real sense of why I blog, at least the way I do.
I want to be clear, that I don’t ever believe I’ll give up on blogging.
At first I thought yesterday was just a bad day. I’m having a good day today and still feel the same way.
Then I thought maybe it was because of my job. To be honest, this might hold more weight. My last job was great because it gave me a lot to blog about. My current job is just maintaining a huge network. Great responsibility, but not very exciting and not a lot of brainpower required.
My final thought was maybe I was just disillusioned with blogging in general as Trevor Cook pointed out:
But I do think one of the limitations on blogging is what’s in it for minor leaguers over the long-term. It’s great to get up to speed and to feel the thrill of it all. But if you’re not A-list and getting all the publicity and the major league hit rankings, well why bother.
I’ve also appreciated the dozen or so emails I’ve received privately.
I love the blogosphere. I love blogging. I love the sense of community.
Maybe I’m just reaching a certain level of visibility now and I’m not enjoying the responsibility that goes with it.
I really don’t know.
I’ll keep trying to sort it out, and likely keep blogging about it. Hang in there, I keep telling myself. Whatever “it” is will come to light so I can deal with it.
Thanks again everyone.
National Goof Off Day
Mar 22nd
Today is National Goof Off Day. I refused to at work, but now that I’m home I’m going to join the distiguished group of guys (fully 40% of us) who’ll spend tonight playing video games.
With my wife’s permission of course ;-)
The End of my Blogging?
Mar 22nd
I dunno. Maybe this is just another phase in my blogging evolution but lately I’ve been inredibly tempted to … End the way I blog.
Not to stop blogging, because I’m not sure I ever could, but certainly to change it.
One of the questions I ask myself is “am I actually contributing anything” to this thing we call the blogosphere? Code samples? Nope. Applications? None. Really good articles and original content? Laughably, no.
So what’s the point? Sure, personal publishing is, by definition personal but that isn’t enough for me.
I’ve been a writer for the last decade. Press releases, articles, book contributions, MSDN pieces, white papers, reports… I’ve done just about everything a writer can do besides publishing a book on poetry (which I’ve considered…).
Over the last week I’ve come to enjoy blogging less, enjoyed the exposure less and really wanted to get back to playing around with this thing we call the Internet more. Or not. I’m also dissillusioned with IT in general.
When half my energy in any given discussion with another IT person is spent defending something that I have no stake in… I have to wonder what the point of it all is. Has IT changed the world? Sure. For the better? Ehhh…
Oh, and, no, the solution isn’t to just take a break from blogging, so please don’t offer that with the best of intentions. This is bigger, deeper, wider.
After a decade online, I feel like I haven’t really improved anyone’s life, and my life certainly hasn’t been improved. I still basically live at the low end of the spectrum, still don’t make much and still feel largely unsatisfied. And while blogging won’t change that, it hasn’t really helped much either.
I still don’t believe I’ll ever stop blogging, but maybe I’ll really only do it for me from now on, closing it off to the public.
Or not. Maybe someone can shed some perspective for me. Of the 2000 people that visit here every day, everytime I’ve had a personal crisis several have stepped up to give me perspective. I appreciate it, and I’m asking for a bit once again, if you have some left over.
Thanks.
