>> YAG (hitherto a guy who has in the past kept reasonably in touch with the >> community) isn't talking to us anymore. Assuming he isn't a total **** who has been b*******ting lots of us over the years, it probably means he has pressure from above. He's at (I am lead to believe) middle management level. So, it's a reasonable bet that the pressure on him is from a beancounter or marketing droid. Do they, (all but the best, anyways) grok concepts such as 'long term' and 'goodwill' ? I doubt it. What they understand - viscerally - is 'fear and greed'. The only way to put pressure on them is to appeal to that.<<
YAG is not a "fear and greed" kinda guy, so I can only assume when you say 'they' you mean Microsoft in general and not YAG, or any of the Fox Team for that matter. Alan definitely understands 'long term' and 'goodwill'. He is a brilliant business man, a genius technical guy, and a decent overall human being. And yes, he is a Microsoftie. Your reasons are very general (evil Microsoft has somehow placed a gag on YAG) and you make great assumptions like the Fox Team drinks the Microsoft kool-aid. The Fox Team is more of a rogue group inside the Microsoft machine, and bucked trends for years. Interestingly enough, the other development teams envied the relationship the team has with the community, and thought they could replicate it with other development communities, not understanding it has to come from the community and not forced/developed by Microsoft. Yet now, the community thinks Microsoft and the specifically the Fox Team don't give a rip about the community. Far, far from the truth. I have not talked to Alan about this so I am not sure his reasoning for the alleged silence. Maybe he is just busy in his job. Maybe he is working on the next big thing. Maybe he is transitioning to something new. Who knows? I think you are also missing the possibility that he is tired of defending Microsoft and the Fox Team to everyone who slammed him (and several others on the team) personally and called his integrity on the carpet numerous times throughout the year since the announcement in March and again after SP2. Believe me, there is no one on the Fox Team who intentionally delivered a broken SP. No one. He also got up in front of an entire crowd in Germany to discuss the SP and has personally talked about "the decision" at numerous conferences. He is not afraid to explain this decision to the community. I know that moaning and groaning will not get us a new SP. I know calling out the integrity of the Fox Team will not get us a new SP. I am not even sure bringing a solid business case will get us a new SP. I just know taking a more positive approach is the best one. >>Why do you think MS is getting more open to Open Source these days? Fear.<< One word - Google. Fear is a powerful motivator. I think they see the competition of this and naturally adjust their business model to meet the challenge. What company wouldn't? Microsoft has a history of redoing itself to be successful in the marketplace. Smart companies are changing to meet the competition all the time. I also think they are giving more to open source these days because it builds goodwill with developers and their customers. I applaud this. Rick White Light Computing, Inc. www.whitelightcomputing.com www.swfox.net www.rickschummer.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Abbott Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 03:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Sedna Released ("with this the last Microsoft release ofVisualFoxPro") Rick Rick Schummer wrote: > > No, this would be presenting Microsoft with a threat model. Que? YAG (hitherto a guy who has in the past kept reasonably in touch with the community) isn't talking to us any more. Assuming he isn't a total **** who has been b*******ting lots of us over the years, it probably means he has pressure from above. He's at (I am lead to believe) middle management level. So, it's a reasonable bet that the pressure on him is from a beancounter or marketing droid. Do they, (all but the best, anyways) grok concepts such as 'long term' and 'goodwill' ? I doubt it. What they understand - viscerally - is 'fear and greed'. The only way to put pressure on them is to appeal to that. Why do you think MS is getting more open to Open Source these days? Fear. I don't disagree at all with your tactics (show the limited list of bugs, the reasons why VFP developers can't use the product ... etc) I just think they'll not be enough on their own. -- Cheers ============ Brian Abbott ============ [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
