.NET and Mono. Call for action: ask for retraction

[Bob Drzyzgula]

On Sun, Jul 29, 2001 at 10:06:54PM +0100, Toby Watson wrote:
> From: "Bob Drzyzgula" <bob@drzyzgula.org>
> > market. Just think of .NET 1.0 as Microsoft's gift to the
> > open source community.
> >
> > IMHO, FWIW.
> 
> Heh. Well that's just fine because it solves a big problem.
> 
> I was just thinking today how this gets beyond a problem that BeOS had/has -
> because the API to their system was OO everybody was tied to C++. Most code
> just isn't C++ these days so the developments were real slow.

On that level, it probably does make some sense.  What
seems dangerous to me is any excitement over how this will
allow greater integration with Microsoft technologies,
of any sort. My cynical prediction is that it will, but
only in the short term. As I said previously, I would fully
expect Microsoft to break the .NET we know and love in a
later version of the technology.

As I see it, the open source community has two options as
to what to do with this big wooden horse that's just been
rolled up outside the gates: Bring it in through the gates
and throw a big party, or disassemble it outside the gates,
kill all the Greeks hiding inside, and use the lumber to
build a new community center.

I don't think that it's just Hailstorm that's the danger.
The danger is in growing dependant in any way on any aspect
of Microsoft's implementation of .NET. This is too much
like Charlie Brown depending on Lucy to hold the ball.

> Besides we've doing quite well with 25 year old technology so far :-)

IMHO, we're only "doing quite well with 25 year old
technolog[ies]" today because they were developed and fully
fleshed out without much in the way of "help" from Microsoft.

--Bob