It’s not a secret among many of my friends and co-workers, I have been pretty harsh toward Microsoft lately. It’s an interesting dichotomy since I make a living developing Microsoft solutions. Despite my harsh opinions, I’m hardly considered a hater. This post was inspired by another post I read in Visual Studio Magazine (No Stopping Microsoft Haters). The unfortunate fact is, the trolls of the Internet are relentless. Some may actually have valid reasons for their opinions, others are probably just trying to bate the passionate.
The thing is, there is a huge difference between a hater and a critic. I rip on Microsoft a lot, because I do have high expectations for a company that has been in business for nearly 40 years. I don’t think my comments and opinions make me a hater. Perhaps if you were to say I am a Windows 8 hater, that might be a valid accusation. However, I really enjoy the tools Microsoft provides to make my job a hundred times easier. I really think Windows 7 is the best version of Windows you can use (unless you must use Hyper-V, then you are pretty much stuck using Windows 8).
Unfortunately for Scott Hanselman, his rather scathing article, which has incited quite a comments backlash, may have painted him as a hater. I read his article, Microsoft killed my Pappy, and it does read like one of those obstinate anti-Microsoft personalities that has been attacking the company for years. So, yea, there is quite a difference between someone that just has strong opinions against one or two particular products and someone that is merely trying to trash a name.
/cheers
I’ve been a programmer for going on 10 years now. I’ve mostly been doing .NET development because that came fairly easy to me. I’ve done non-.NET programming on the side (i.e. HTML5, iOS, etc) but the bulk of my experience lies in .NET. I’ve been butting heads with Microsoft lately because I don’t like the direction they are moving with their desktop and mobile technology.
The average work day is 8-to-5 where normally people (usually on salary) will take an hour for lunch. I never take an hour for lunch. In fact, I rarely even take a lunch at all. Personally, I can finish eating in about 10-15 minutes (normally because 98% of the time I bring my lunch). If I take an actual lunch then I am sitting around doing nothing for 15-45 minutes. I find that not only excruciatingly boring but extremely unproductive (unless I have good company).
If you didn’t know, I work for a consulting firm as a software developer. I’ve never consulted prior to starting at Cardinal and I have to say that I do really enjoy it. It is kind of weird when you switch clients because it feels like you are always starting a new job but you get use to it after five years. Granted I have only had three clients, all of which were always extending my contract until I was no longer needed. I have to say, when you are at a client for a year+, its almost like leaving a full time job. I often try to ingrain myself into their office culture because it becomes easier to work with all the folks when you feel like you’re part of the team. I think that’s really the kind of thing Cardinal likes to encourage. We don’t want to be staff augmentation, we want to be a solutions provider.
Almost daily I read CNET, ZDnet and several other news feeds regarding technology trends. I do this so I can keep up with how the technology and the industry is changing. I’ve noticed that there have been several articles claiming that the PC is dying. These claims are based on the declining number of desktop sales. I do wonder though if these statistics are only taking into account mass-manufactured computers (i.e. HP, Dell, etc). Personally, I have never bought a premade computer, I’ve always built all my computers.
I’ve been trashing Microsoft quite a bit lately (some of it might be behavioral regression from my anti-Microsoft days). I think a lot of it has to do with how much I dislike Windows 8 and how easily people are blindly being lead to its use like sheep to the slaughter. I think Windows 8 is Microsoft’s worst design idea since adding that damn ribbon to the top of all their Office products.