Halfway House
When we launched
Redmond Developer News in
November
of 2006, we knew we were showing up at the right place at the right time.
Microsoft, after all, has been hyperactive in the development tools space, kicking
out one groundbreaking product after the next. In fact, as we look back at the
first six months of 2007, it's remarkable to think how much has already happened.
Consider this. Since our launch, Redmond has released the .NET Framework 3.0
(you might have heard of it); debuted first betas of Visual Studio 2008, SQL
Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008; and advanced key technologies like Language
Integrated Query (LINQ) and Entity Frameworks (EF). And don't even get me started
on Web-centric stuff, like the Microsoft AJAX Toolkit, Silverlight platform
and the growing Expression Suite.
As if that weren't enough, we've seen unprecedented activity in the area of
open source tools and languages. Dynamic languages like Ruby and Python have
prompted Microsoft to expand the tent, adding hooks to enable dynamic languages
under Visual Studio. The Eclipse IDE, meanwhile, continues to mature and expand.
It's been a crazy first half of the year, and the second half of 2007 looks
to be no less hectic. The stretch run of 2007 will prove critical, as Microsoft
sharpens Visual Studio and its Team System sibling, for what should be an early
2008 launch. We can also see Redmond continue to wrestle with the thorny issue
of managing data, as LINQ and EF approach launch and data-savvy languages like
Microsoft's IronPython continue to gain traction.
The real question in all this is: How can we help you? What would you like
to see more of in the pages of RDN? What departments or columns work
and which ones don't? Shoot me your thoughts at [email protected],
so we can get down to work making our publication and Web site better.
Posted by Michael Desmond on 06/27/2007