Joel on Software
Oct 23: Seoul:
WebAppsCon
Oct 27: Boston:
SD Best Practices
Feb 24: Miami:
Future of Web Apps
Search:

Wanted: Software Engineer at Pelco (Clovis, CA 93612). See this and other great job listings at jobs.joelonsoftware.com.

News


This item ran on the Joel on Software homepage on Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Dare Obasanjo at Microsoft read How Microsoft Lost the API War and took it to heart: “The Microsoft culture is about creating the newest, latest greatest thing that 'changes the world' not improving what is already out there and working for customers. When I read various Microsoft blogs and MSDN headlines about how even though we've made paradigm shifts in developer technologies in the recent years we aren't satisfied and want to introduce radically new and different technologies all over again. This bothers me. I hate the fact that 'you have to rewrite a lot of your code' is a common answer to questions a customer might ask about how to leverage new or upcoming functionality in a developer technology.

It's great that some people Microsoft took my article to heart (not just the MSDN editors, who have been running victory laps). Now I have a confession. The reason it took me so long to write this article is that I was afraid Microsoft would actually listen to me, even in some small degree, even if it's just the System.Xml.XmlDocument class. As a developer, I would much prefer if the Raymond Chen camp won -- it sure makes my life easier -- but as a competitor to Microsoft, I have to assume that the stupider Microsoft is, the better.



My new book is here! Apress has just published a new collection of 36 essays from Joel on Software, aptly named More Joel on Software. Get yours today! Available from Amazon.com or wherever fine cheese is sold.

About the Author: I’m your host, Joel Spolsky, a software developer in New York City. Since 2000, I've been writing about software development, management, business, and the Internet on this site. For my day job, I run Fog Creek Software, makers of FogBugz—the smart bug tracking software with the stupid name, and Fog Creek Copilot—the easiest way to provide remote tech support over the Internet, with nothing to install or configure.

Enter your email address to receive a (very occasional) email whenever I write a major new article. You can unsubscribe at any time, of course.

Email:

 
Home | Email | Bug Tracking Software | Remote Assistance | Complete Archive