Short Takes: March 15, 2010
By SD Times Editorial Board
March 15, 2010 —
(Page 1 of 2)
Uncertain over .NET
I've written a lot about the evolution of the .NET Framework in the last two issues of SD Times. The .NET Framework, while imperfect, is good technology. In fact, .NET can be more productive than Java, depending on the context of the application that is being built.
.NET wins on the client-side, but the Java ecosystem overtakes that difference on the server-side, according to author Ted Neward, who works with both platforms. .NET has evolved rapidly, and so does any platform during its early years. The criticisms are justified, but Microsoft has been fairly responsive to developers' requests.
It has, however, been too Windows-centric in its vision for the .NET platform. I'm convinced that the framework would have achieved greater success had Microsoft taken a many-platform view and not created enormous uncertainty about using its intellectual property. With the emergence of cloud computing, it again faces the choice of placing its bet on Windows.
I'm not certain that it will be successful in the cloud without having great tools for Linux. Maybe its recent indemnification agreement with Amazon, which gives it access to some of Amazon's technology for Linux, will shed some light on its strategy. — David Worthington
Make your Web app stand out
To ensure success, Web applications need to be fun, fast, easy to navigate and instantly useful for the end user, said venture capitalist Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures. He explained to the audience at this year’s Future of Web Apps conference in Miami Beach that in order to keep a user interested, applications should have their own personality that distinguishes them from the myriad of other apps out there.
Let us listen to Wilson here; some of Union Square Ventures’ early-stage investments include successes like Twitter, Delicious and Boxee. The application must be built from the ground up with speed in mind, Wilson said, and the layout must not be cluttered or “busy on the page,” otherwise user interest will surely dwindle. An app also needs to be optimized for search engines and social media sites, he said, adding, “A new Web app is a needle in a haystack.” — Katie Serignese
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