Fellow Geeks, we must strive for excellence not only in our code, but also in our interactions with Those Who Think HTML is a Programming Language.

Excellent ‘rant’ about the value of a developer involved in more then just developing software, like sales or customer support. But: “As developers, we are often just not qualified to participate in things like sales or marketing or strategy. We can be too abrasive to talk with customers. We love certain technologies too much to be objective. We forget that users are very different from us.”

The most interesting quote from the press release, would be:

"Windows® and Office are a powerful foundation for productivity and a rich platform for partners to build great solutions and add value,"  Gates said. "The Microsoft Business Solutions group builds on that foundation to deliver world-class business applications that are simpler and less expensive, offering more companies new ways to enhance the way they work."

Which shows MSFT is moving towards further integrating it’s Business Solutions with Office and selling it more and more as a platform as well as an application suite, see also VSTO 2005.

One more quote:

"Project Green," the code name for next-generation Microsoft Business Solutions' development efforts, will be delivered over the course of two waves. The first wave will occur between 2005 and 2007, and will include the release of a shared user interface based around 50 common configurable roles that people have within a company, all seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Office. Microsoft's business applications also will interoperate with service-oriented applications and include a common configurable reporting environment based on SQL Server (TM) Reporting Services and a common security-enhanced intranet and extranet environment based on Microsoft Office SharePoint® Portal Server to enable new levels of collaboration within and across companies. (Emphasize mine)

Looking forward to see what improvements have been made, esp. in Microsoft CRM, est. RTM Q4 2005, since that isn’t the friendliest platform to base a solution on.

One of the most anticipated tech-ipos after the dotCom crash is announced. 

Read the official SEC filing, the Google press release and comments from Forbes and reports from the Fincial Times.

"Agent Smith", CIO for an airfreight business, has some interesting insights in the less technical issues surrounding software development and being a CIO in general.

Reports on the web indicate Google has the intention to auction shares early next year, raising an approximate $15bn - $25bn.

Management day....

Johanna about choice and decisions.

Managers are paid to make decisions. When I've seen organizations fail, in each case, the management team forgot that their job was to make the tough decisions. Managers have to make decisions in the face of ambiguity. No decision is still a decision -- to continue on as in the past. Sometimes, that's the right decision.

From LauraJ's blog:

David Anderson quotes an answer by his boss on outsourcing at an all hands meeting. 

We will outsource when there is no knowledge associated with an activity, such as repetitive execution of test plans. We will not outsource where there is knowledge to be gained and retained such as writing test scripts or programming automated tests. We will also outsource when we have resource issues. We will look at each case in turn. When it makes commercial sense we will outsource to elevate a bottleneck.

Exactly.

Jesse has some strong feeling on the GPL, which I can whole hartedly agree with.

eWeek has a very interesting preview of an upcoming book by Karen Southwick about the past, present and future of the software company run by Larry Ellison.

Between 2001 and 2003, Oracle's revenues shrank by more than $1 billion, from $10.9 billion in the fiscal year ending May 31, 2001, to $9.5 billion in the year ending May 31, 2003. Even by 2004, revenues were still projected to be below the high-water market of $10.9 billion in 2001. While Ellison and Henley continued to blame the poor economy and the collapse in corporate spending after September 11, 2001, that reasoning was wearing thin. It was becoming obvious that most of Oracle's problems were internal, related to its loss of management at the top, its alienation of everyone from customers to partners, its conflict-ridden culture that sucks energy into the black hole of corporate politics and last but not least, the flawed personality of the Oracle himself, Larry Ellison.

A must read for Oracle customers and competitors.

In a bold move, Sony announced yesterday to reduce the number of parts it's uses from 840.000 to a mere 100.000. Sony is not the first to realise less parts can mean reduced costs, as the car industry has been reducing parts for quite sometime. The reduction in parts will have a dramatic influence on the number of suppliers, who's numbers will be reduced from 8400 to 1000.

This is part of a 3 year plan costing ¥300bn aimed at restructuring its electronics division, where the recent problems have been concentrated.

(source: financial times)