Mood:
irritatedTopic: Integroty
Some people talk and talk and talk and other people get things done.
Those of you who look toward Microsoft for cutting edge moves in software you need to go to the local restaurant and see what they're using for knives. Your market leadership and technology return on investments ain't none too sharp.
The two hot topics in efficient SaaS (Software as a Service) is autonomic management (self managing server systems) and governance management (self policing server systems).
Let's take a look at the two. First we'll look at the term 'autonomic' as it applies to Microsoft.
This is Microsoft talking about autonomic systems management. The date is March 2003:
http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci886334,00.html
Microsoft to map out autonomic computing strategy
By Margie Semilof, Senior News Writer
17 Mar 2003
(excerpt)
Industry experts have been waiting for Microsoft to publicly discuss its strategy for autonomic computing. IBM Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. are among the vendors who have such plans in place.
If you google microsoft + autonomic you'll find a nice book but most of what Microsoft talked about in that arena was back in 2003 and nothing since then.
And news? Uhhhhh... try google microsoft + autonomic news. Feast your ever loving eyes on the vast nothingness.
Then we will look at one MSFT competitor in IBM. Where is Microsoft's competitor IBM? Here's just one example of what they are doing now.
http://www.itnewsonline.com/showstory.php?storyid=9232&scatid=8&contid=1#
IBM Opens New Autonomic Computing Technology Center in Bangalore
IT News Online Staff
2007-04-03
That was this week.
Google IBM + autonomic news and now ask yourself where has Microsoft been all these years? Why are they so behind and why are they not even now making so much as a splash in the subject?
OK so that was 'autonomic' computing. It's not a buzzword and it will define the degree to which your computation resources are affordable and reliable as services. Such affordable reliability can be provided at any level as good scalable software is wont to provide.
That or your applications and operating systems will have to run in human hands.
Good luck.
Then let's talk about the subject of governance management.
Here's Microsoft's triumphant entry into the governance arena:
http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci1249438,00.html
Microsoft systems management to enter governance fray
By Christina Torode, Senior News Writer
29 Mar 2007
Now do a google of IBM + governance. Hey look... even the microsoft PR is in the mix LOL
Now honestly folks. Who are you going to believe?
Which do you believe has a horse in the autonomic management arena? Microsoft? or their competitors?
Which do you believe has a horse in the governance management arena? Microsoft? or their competitors?
So could you please explain to me just how ANY technologically savvy developer or designer or architect or manager or journalist still believes anything Microsoft says?
Of course the business types will couch their opinions in 'good MSFT's holding back' 'wait for the market to come to you'.
But... really? You folks would commend the job Microsoft management has been doing all this time do you? That's interesting. There really ARE koolaid drinkers out there.
Uhhh guys you can't be serious with a two, three, four, five year failure to produce in key areas to compete when they HAD RESOURCES IN PLACE TO COMPETE and you're going to spin that as a 'good' thing.
Heh heh heh. Wow. And they think I hang on the hookah a little too long.
Holding back and letting a market develop and making the other players eat their mistakes and coming in from behind is one thing. But how long is all that supposed to take when you've been working on it for five years already?
The competitors are managing to field their solutions as they emerge out of their development testbeds and apparently are being very enthusiastically received where ever they go.
And you guys haven't even gotten off the porch. Is this a tortoise and the hare thing? You think you can run that fast when the tortoise is touching the finish line? Is this some kind of an expensive joke?
$20 billion in R&D over 3 years and they have ... what? Are they doing a better job now? We'll know in two, three, four years now won't we?
If you ask me the folks who really take it from behind with this sort of 'business strategy' are the grunts out in the field using (or should I say NOT using in this instance) Microsoft tools and technology to achieve what (oops I did it again) I mean to NOT achieve the kinds of technological leaps their colleagues in other houses do.
Why would anyone want to stunt their career usefulness so much? Do they think they will work at Microsoft forever? Will there BE a Micrososoft still around to support their careers? I suppose there will be something called a Microsoft but it is already a pale imitation of its past glories.
If the corporate technology base is so grey and in shock now what amount of the remaining life and cash will have drained from the corporate body one year two years from now?
(Ye gods I wax eloquent and apocalyptical.)
The workers take it in the end always being behind the learning curve and producing obvious copycat merchandise built out like some sort of Japanese post WW2 tin toy factory. They used to build battleships. It's hard to scale down to a wind up toy. Give 'em a break.
Damn. Who blew these MSFT guys up? They're wandering around feckless in the ruins of an XML technology display and they're talking about how wonderful things are... while everyone else chronicles their devastation and shock.
Don't like that allegory? try this one: Biggest brontosaurus in the entire software swamp and something like an electric fence keeps the poor baby in a very small yard. What has the power to do that? Hmmmm Must have been that old devil 'the details'.
Try making a view of your own. Any view you draw of Microsoft at this stage of the game is this: if you took away their money (they only have ~$30billion in the old cow - a billion hardly goes anywhere these days) and the established Office user base (under increasing marketing pressure to defect) and the Established Windows base (under increasing skepticism as to value in new products) what you have is a startup. And a not very efficient nor productive startup at that.
I will wait patiently for the laughter to die down. You can't think while you're laughing at me, ok? This is important. Pay attention. You think I stand around here in this clown outfit all day long to recurve my scroliosis or something? I have been smoten by the emerods in my long suffering duties as pundidiot so I got a right to complain already.
Prep H ain't gonna sooth my ills people. Fairness justice and the American Way whatever the hell that means these days. At least a reasonable facsimile thereof unto.
Microsoft acts now like a failed dotcom of the 2000 era. Burning cash and posting PRs saying 'This time we're really in it big!'
They're in it big alright. Pucketa squeak pucketa squeak pucketa squeak squeak squeak. KWIM?
I can see you're still grinning but if you were to tabulate all that Microsoft has amounted to in terms of viable work for a company this size and their cash-burning rate one has to wonder what sort of movies will be made about the old dinosaur's teetering collapse into irrelevance before long.Remember hubris and deception? Remember the terrible toll such takes on integrity and viability? Don't believe that old school mold time religion moralistic crap? Think Jesus only saves and is too pacifist to braid a bigger whip?
HA Forget Vista. Deceptive marketing seems to have permeated all of Microsoft if you ask me. Let it run.
There is no 'there' there. When you're standing on the 'X Marks the Spot' 'You are here' spot there's no 'here' here. Somebody is choking off Microsoft's ability to wield XML in a free and easy way and that's regardless all the work they 'say' they do in XML. Where it's obvious to the serious they are not even playing.
Odd. Very very odd.
Whatsamatta U Wiz? Nothing to sew up the web and the PC? Nothing to make your governance and autonomic efforts fruitful? Limited? Confined? Embunkered? Take the easy way out. Make me and many others rich. Buy a license for crying out loud.
Then you can drive down 101 like you're proud to be here... or there.
