Hi Joel,

>> 1) Why did you invest time in these "Next Big Thing" products?

Because I just love learning. Moreover to learn OOP and software architecture to the depth I wanted to go, I needed to understand C++ and Java, otherwise it's tough sledding.

>> 2) Why do you consider that time wasted?

Because, for me, the net payoff is negative for all these technologies. Time and money invested reading books and magazines and software haven't been even nearly offset by income I can directly attribute to the efforts. There are some benefits (I can talk about the java interfaces, or Delphi error handling, and I'm definitely more well-rounded than I otherwise would be) but by and large the benefits are not very tangible.

The amount of money my office -- meaning mostly just me -- has spent on books and magazines over the years is just ridiculous. I don't regret a dime, but I can't point to any revenue either. For example, I've been reading Delphi Informant for five years at least. Offhand I can't think of a single article I've really dug. But conversely, I can't think of a single Delphi software engineering issue I've not heard about.

It's probably akin to checking caves in Afganistan. I'm glad I don't live there, and I feel a little better knowing what's really there. Mostly it's a no-pay proposition. I can tell you that no ambushes are immediately forthcoming originating form there <s>. It's nice to know, I suppose...

**--** Steve



>Hi Steve,
>
>>All the time I invested in Access was wasted. All the time I invested in Delphi was wasted. All the time I invested in VB was wasted. All the time I invested in Java looks to be wasted. All these were the Next Big Thing, essentially .NET without the billion dollar promotion which will, I suspect, mostly be wasted.
>>
>
>I thought the comments you made above were interesting, and I'd like to better understand where you are coming from:
>
>1) Why did you invest time in these "Next Big Thing" products?
>
>2) Why do you consider that time wasted?
>
>Thanks.