.NET and Microsoft statistics

I’m not saying my opinion is the only one that matters, but I tend to look a bit further down the road. Being technically superior isn't always the smartest move in the long run. But then again, who actually cares about things like market monopolies when you can just play in the .NET ecosystem and feel like a big shot for using it?

Like I said before. It only makes sense if it’s actually efficient.

slycrane94 said:Total loser. Look, maybe I’m not some high-level developer, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to use the damn thing.

Why even bother building a program that's basically useless except as a demo? Like, if you're gonna make an example, why not make something actually helpful, like a widget that shows the time or a TV guide on your desktop or something? Instead, you're just picking a fight with Amazon. Honestly, Amazon is way more practical to just use directly through their site. Your browser is always open anyway, and it's much easier to just order books that way (which is impossible to do through this junk she made).

So yeah, the utility of this program is basically zero. If you think that's somehow a win, then hey, enjoy it.

I really want to ask the admins to strip slycrane94 of his moderator status on this forum. First off, he’s a mod, yet he spends all his time acting like a jerk and insulting everyone he talks to. Second, it is blindingly obvious he hasn't got a clue what he's talking about and most of his posts are just pure nonsense. For the sake of this subforum's sanity, I am officially calling for slycrane94's "impeachment"!

Regarding my thread about Amazon's Web service, I want to clear a few things up:

1) It's true that the app I wrote isn't exactly life-changing (since it just lists book titles from Amazon and their prices). But the whole point of the thread wasn't to build some massive, complex application; the goal was primarily to explain—simply and clearly—what web services actually are and how they get used.

2) Sure, I could have built a much more complicated app where you could actually order books and stuff, but I felt like that would just muddy the waters and distract from the core principles I wanted to highlight.

3) I totally disagree with the idea that a single web service like Amazon's is useless. Why? Just imagine a local bookstore (like a big Barnes & Noble in a major city) that regularly restocks via Amazon. Now imagine they need to order, say, 2,000 different titles. Can you picture someone having to manually click through the Amazon website and order them one by one? That would take forever! With a web service, you could get that done incredibly fast without all that tedious clicking. Basically, web services are a lifesaver when you need to automate web-related tasks.

4) And obviously, Amazon isn't the only player here; this is a rapidly growing trend across the whole industry. Even Google has been offering this for a while now—you can check out the details at http://www.google.com/apis/

On sites like http://www.xmethods.com/ or http://www.salcentral.com/, you can find tons of different web services. Plus, it's actually pretty easy to write your own web service (and if people are interested, maybe I'll write a separate post about how to do that in .NET). I just want to emphasize one last thing: web services aren't tied to .NET technology at all. You can use and write them in Java, Delphi, whatever. But naturally, in my posts (assuming I still have the patience and energy after being subjected to this baseless trash-talking), I’m going to focus on how to use and write them in .NET, because I truly believe it's the fastest and best way to do it! I know certain people won't agree, but I honestly don't care: at least I'm showing how to do it in .NET, whereas I highly doubt he'll show you how to do it in Java (he'll probably just claim he doesn't have the time or doesn't feel like it, and then go back to being condescendingly smug, but fine, I'm done engaging with that).

Daniel Fowler9🙄

slycrane94 said:Look, I don't care if we aren't on the same page here. Some people actually look ahead. Being technically superior isn't always the winning move. But hey, who cares about monopolies when you can just play in the .NET sandbox and feel cool for using it?

Like I said. Efficiency only matters if it actually makes sense.

I’m just being moderate. I'm not a fanboy for any side; I just think competition is healthy. Everyone has their niche—whether it's Microsoft, Linux, Solaris, .NET, or J2EE.

But that has zero to do with what we were actually arguing about. You attacked a valid, evidence-based topic where someone could have actually learned something, yet as a moderator, you should be encouraging that. That's why I agree with Daniel Fowler9—you shouldn't be a moderator. First off, you're biased, not neutral. You insult the people making this forum worth reading, and your American isn't even that great. You lack pretty much every quality a moderator is supposed to have.

So, I guess I’m not allowed to have an opinion? Just because I’m a moderator doesn't mean I have to stay silent. If you think I actually messed up my duties—like moving a thread or deleting something improperly—then let me know. But I still have a right to my own views.

As for the criticism, I’ve already made my point. It’s a lot easier to stay motivated when you see actual utility coming from the software. Maybe you've forgotten what it was like when you were first learning to code.

And regarding competition, we all want it. It’s just that Microsoft is incredibly aggressive—and frankly, shady—when it comes to crushing anyone else in the market.

slycrane94 said:So I’m not allowed to have an opinion? Look, being a mod doesn't mean I lose my right to speak. If you actually think I messed up a mod call—like if I moved a thread or deleted something incorrectly—then let me know. But my opinions are my own.

Regarding the hate for the example code, I already covered this. It’s way easier to stay motivated when there’s a practical use for what you're coding. You seem to have forgotten what it was like actually learning to program.

And as for competition, we’re all for it, except for the fact that Microsoft is aggressively (and illegally) trying to crush it.

Look, it’s nothing personal, so don't get all worked up. You can have an opinion, sure, but don't just trash everything and kill any chance of making this one little forum actually useful.

Like I said, your comment on Daniel Fowler9's thread—which is honestly one of the most helpful things since we moved the boards to this URL—is just a reflection of your anti-Microsoft bias. Attacking the example code with zero actual arguments fits right in with that pattern.

Add in your terrible English, and I honestly have no idea how you even managed to land a moderator gig.

Am I foaming at the mouth? You clearly haven't seen me when I actually lose my cool.
As for my American English, it’s because I haven't lived stateside in twelve years. If you want, I can switch to a more global standard to fix the grammar, though I doubt you'd follow along.

Regarding my stance against Microsoft, I think I have a pretty solid reason for it. It wasn't my intention to shut down her topic or anything like that; I just suggested she could have used a better example.

If I'm bothering you so much, then go ahead and push your luck—maybe my boss will let me go. Then you can sell your Microsoft propaganda to Daniel Fowler9 all you want. I'm just waiting for you guys to start a thread about how wonderful life will be once the TCPA kicks in.

Honestly, I’m lucky I don't have ambitions like that.

Regarding Microsoft, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm not out here "shilling" for them or anything. I'm currently working on J2EE projects, and I haven't even touched .NET yet. I'm just trying to point out that there's some kind of balance in the market. Microsoft is one of those—okay, the biggest and most successful—software companies that naturally tries to grab the biggest slice of the pie. If it weren't for Microsoft, Linux probably wouldn't be where it is today (actually, I doubt Linux would even exist, but that's a whole other conversation). Do Microsoft products have holes and flaws? Sure. Do they have more than any other platform? I doubt it. It's just that Microsoft, like I mentioned before, is the most interesting target to hit, so their screw-ups get way more attention.

I still think Daniel Fowler9's topic is one of the most useful things on this board, and from what I can see, you're the only one attacking it. She made a good point—let's see some gentlemen throw out a helpful (doesn't even have to be useful) Java example so we can actually enrich this forum.

Go after her "Microsoft rules" take, not the constructive part.

Honestly, there’s really no point in us bickering about this. My point was that we could find a better example, not that the topic itself is bad. If you want to learn C#, this is actually great material. The difference between good and great just comes down to the details. Regardless, nobody needs to worry about this thread becoming a problem. I might not agree with Daniel Fowler9 even one percent, but that doesn't change the quality of the work.

Let's just spark up a joint (modern times 😁) and move on to a different conversation 🙂

No way, I’m just getting started. I'm looking for a fight.

Actually, let's light up a joint first, then we can argue.

sick_boy said:No way, I’m totally down to argue. I’m just getting warmed up here.

Actually, we can light up a joint first, and then we can get into the heavy debating right after.

Nah, let's just skip the waiting and start fighting right now! 😁

Daniel Fowler9🙄