Letters to the Editor
A reader responds to "Protect What's Yours" (November 2010), in which Andrew Brust expressed concerns about Microsoft's ability to defend its ground:
Well, if Brad Becker was vague, Bob Muglia wasn't: "Our strategy has shifted". I'm just wondering how all the partners who've developed products and businesses based on Silverlight feel now.
Bruce Armstrong
Wishing for jQuery
Doug Gregory's tips, presented in our Language Lab section, on using jQuery controls in ASP.NET MVC 2 ("Visual Studio 2010 Tips: How to Use jQuery UI Controls in ASP.NET MVC 2, Debug WCF Services in Silverlight Apps," November 2010) evoked this reader response:
Nice article. But when oh when are we Web Forms developers going to have access to server-side controls that use jQuery on the client? I don't want to give up on Web Forms and its validation framework -- but I'd like to be able to use some controls (like a date picker) that use jQuery on the client. Why isn't Microsoft spending time on this? Surely a couple of interns could crank this out in a few months!
Posted Online
Cloud Happy
A reader responds to Andrew Brust's Oct. 29, 2010, Redmond Diary blog post, "Windows Azure's 3.0 Maturity in a 2.0 Release," praising Microsoft's evolving Windows Azure strategy:
Although pundits may have written Microsoft off in the cloud, they ain't seen nothing yet. The cloud movement is a gift to Microsoft. And like Ballmer said, they're all-in -- and I'm in with them!
Posted Online
Is Apple Not So Bad After All?
A reader takes issue with Michael Desmond's contention that Microsoft "gets" developers while Apple does not ("Knowing Developers," October 2010):
"Microsoft gets developers, and Apple doesn't." Really? I'd like to think so, as I've used [Microsoft] technologies for the past 10 years, and the examples of how they don't get me are evident everywhere. LINQ to SQL -- dead. Windows Presentation Foundation not having the same tooling support as Silverlight. Kicking Web Forms to the curb to push Test-Driven Development with Model-View-Controller. Dropping Visual Basic 6 off a cliff with the introduction of .NET and no migration wizard worth anything. ASP classic crushed and now alive again with IIS Express and WebMatrix because PHP is kicking butt. Most recently, no SQL Server Compact on Windows Phone 7, and Visual Basic as only a CTP that will never see the light of day.
I think Microsoft does what it wants to do when the dollars are right, and Apple is no different. I'm still a fan of Microsoft, but things of course could be done better, with the developer more at the forefront of their efforts.
Posted Online
About the Author
This story was written or compiled based on feedback from the readers of Visual Studio Magazine.