>I know... all we need is yet another thread on this topic.... but I must :)
>
>Does it seem to anyone else that the open source languages are actually more consistent than .Net?
>
>.NET has been through what, 4 or 5 data access methodologies now (ADO, LINQ, Entity, etc.)? WinForms gave way to WebForms which was supposed to give way to SilverLight but now SilverLight is the domain of WP7, not the future of desktop apps. Sorry guys. Classic ASP gives way to asp.net with MVC but then the MSFT implementation of MVC is shite so we go with MVVM or maybe now MVCVVMCMVM? If you were using open source DLR projects like IronRuby or IronPython you have been defunded. Sorry. What, you want to be productive in the IDE? Then go out and purchase CodeComplete and TestDriven and Reflector and blahblah.
>
>Sure the Fox can be a bit challenging in certain areas (multi-threading sticks out for sure) but I'll be damned if I can ever see being as productive in .NET for simple desktop apps as I am with the Fox. Being a small shop, .Net solves problems I don't have. When VFP stops paying the bills I'm looking to Python or Ruby. Those languages look so damn lean and sexy and exciting!
>
>That is all. Thank you for reading.

MS is in reactionary mode due to competition from Apple, Android/Google and Linux, amongst many others. At the moment they don't have a clear vision or direction that is demonstrably better than their competitors.

As I see it, FOSS suffers from two main issues:

- Too much choice. For example, maybe you want to use Java or Python. Which of the myriad frameworks for each are you going to commit to?

- Lack of support for non-mainstream projects. A lot of FOSS projects get abandoned. How can you tell the winners from the losers? Even some nominal "winners" like Java and MySQL are in serious turmoil due to ownership changes.

Until relatively recently, MS has been able to point to strong developer support, so you could be reasonably sure if you committed to MS technology you wouldn't get abandoned (eg. Ballmer's "monkey dance"). Now, they're trying to pick winners and losers internally in reaction to fast-moving market forces so you're getting these seemingly draconian abandonments. In I/O parlance, MS is "thrashing".

In contrast, some FOSS projects have BDFLs who aren't hugely driven by profit and who can be obnoxiously committed to their respective visions - Torvalds, van Rossum, de Raadt etc. Steve Jobs is hugely profit-driven but most would agree he has clearer vision than any C-level exec at MS.