Re: Hear here (March 28)
Thanks for your editorial. It is right on the button. Keep it up and maybe we can get rid of all that noise that people have acquired.
One person
has the National Anthem as the ring on their cell phone. Am I supposed to stand at attention every time it rings? Their reason for it: “”My daughter thought it was a good idea and I do not want to say no to her.”” Another lady has a hymn for the same reason. Half the offices have have radios on through the day to give privacy to the private conversations. Others have piped in music and some have a series of motivational slogans.
I thought that I might be the only person who would prefer to work at home during the quiet of the night when there is no noise except for muted snoring from the bedrooms with closed doors. Keep up the thought and we may have silent peace.
Matt McGrath
Re: Hear here (March 28)
Really sorry to read about the extra noise that your management is deliberately creating. What a stupid move.
I guess you are now internally debating:
1. Whether to move elsewhere
2. How to sabotage the system
3. Whether to start an e-mailing campaign within the company to find those who agree with you
4. Who to kick, hard.
Good luck!
Chris Packman
Woodstock, Ont.
Re: Cold storage (March 18)
I like good creative thinking and writing and drawing parallels to the everyday world from the arcane world of IT. You did an admirable job. Well done!
M. Forest
Re: Canadian developers debate the end of Visual Basic 6 (March 15)
This is an important issue that has been brewing for a while, and I am very glad to see IT Business bring it out to the opening for discussion.
MS needs to support DCOM for 64-bit computing. The existing VB-based implementations should have a VB6+ compiler to easily promote the extensive infrastructure code out there from 32-bit to 64-bit.
Contrary to what the .Net camp thinks, for the existing ASP/VBCOM+ implementations, it will be better to migrate the 70 per cent ASP part, found in all implementations, to run in a “”Chillisoft”” type container, while porting the remaining 30 per cent VB COM+/DCOM parts into Java. The effort to migrate onto .Net does not necessarily help small businesses. The benefit of the alternative proposal against migration to .Net is that the result of any port will run in both MS Windows and Unix/Linux-type servers, with support for 64-bit computing at a reduced cost for such an effort (if forced to do so).
I am hope the marketing people at Microsoft are thinking about the consequence of the decision to abandon the VB6 community, both for MS and for the vast number of small businesses out there.
Anthony R. Sukdeo
Technocorp
Re: Canadian developers debate the end of Visual Basic 6 (March 15)
Most of these companies don’t employ the original developers. They hang on to the original development (intellectual property) hoping to ride the wave a few more years with limited investment. And they tell their customers how good their software is. I wonder if they still use the same engine in their car that they purchased 10 years ago. This may be a good way of eliminating the dogs from the market place.
Maybe David Senf should represent companies that have moved into the 21st century instead of being a spokesperson for companies who still milk their development regardless how outdated it is.
Ron Bruce
1st Knowledge Bank
Surrey , B.C.
Re: Canadian developers debate the end of Visual Basic 6 (March 15)
As a developer who had invested a significant amount of time and money into mastering VB6, I sympathize with those who are loathe to let it go. Dubious at first, I made the effort to learn VB.Net and I find it a superior development tool, even for simple desktop applications. I much prefer it over VB6 — and I loved VB6.
The sticking point is that it cost me several hundred dollars in study materials and about three months of my time to get to a point where I am confident about new development in VB.Net. VB6 to VB.Net is no trivial transition in terms of development tools.
Then there is the issue of migrating application from VB6 to VB.Net. For any significant application you cannot do it. You have to rewrite the code and to make the best use of .Net you also have to revisit architecture and design. These are big bullets to bite, and unfortunately those who missed the opportunity to acquire .Net skills at a more relaxed pace are now faced with the harsh reality that technology bypasses those who don’t keep current.
Keith A. Ujvary BSc MCP
QES – Quality Engineered Systems Ltd.
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