Coasting.

Steadily, even. On the Rails. That’s right, I said it. The RAILS.

This is Microsoft. Of late. No, it’s not the Microsoft that used virtuality and an exploitation of impatience to transform the System32 directory into nicotine dependency and high blood pressure. It’s not even the artist behind painting your screen blue, sensing those most opportune times when you really just wanted some pretty pretty. It’d equally be remiss to point a finger to the same group that brought you to the bank manager on your knees, tugging on those freshly-pressed pinstriped slacks and slobbering on about licensing costs. I know, I know. They would only stroke their handlebar lip hair and peer at you through a dusty gold-rimmed monocle, devoid of all remorse. We’ve all been there. Granted, this may very well be that same Microsoft, but hey, they’ve been better and I could give a damn. Most of the world would have you at that bank under related circumstance, and who doesn’t really want an XBox?

What I can’t help but notice, is the new business of eliciting an overall developer appreciation that our old giant has taken practice in. Having worked in a Microsoft-friendly environment, using Microsoft technologies (of course, of course) and producing things, Microsoftly, for more years than I care to recall, this is the first time I’ve witnessed (or noticed) Microsoft quietly going about their business, releasing a credible line of products geared toward being a true asset to fostering community and furthering development accessibility. The days of monopolizing product lines and inconsistent support are making way to a concerted effort in framework development and giving the floor their say. As if the interest has turned from overseeing the world itself, to quite selflessly contributing to it. Now, we know this isn’t true. It’s a sign of the times, perhaps, at least in part, but also a most welcome change. Yes, they will always want for money. Yours, specifically. Exclusively. Apple wants it too. Even the pennies—don’t skimp. Microsoft products, however, are finally becoming enabling, which beyond being a simple, oft-overlooked premise in the world of software development, is a bit of a joy to experience.

In all honesty, I hold no allegiance to those that “boot” or require charging. Chimes, lights. They’re all machines. There’s a right tool for the job, and it should be used. I’m not judging you if you’re a Mac, and we’re not necessarily friends, PC. Professionally speaking, I enjoy working with .NET. I feel that with the advent of this framework and the C# language, Microsoft returned to the ring of rapid-prototyping and versatility, but with a real weapon this time, well beyond promotional dollars or the grass-roots support of their industry fellows. The framework doesn’t try to assume what you’re most apt to develop, and it doesn’t back you into a corner, forcing you to work within a bastardized design pattern. It’s a simple, powerful toolset, for the right job. As .NET has stabilized, we’ve seen the release of XNA and various foundation packages further extend an already rather wide gamut of environment types within which a former Microsoft-friendly developer could not easily deploy to or access. The latest of noteworthy improvements came packaged with the 3.5 release, introducing a community-based, easy-to-use implementation of Web 2.0 methodologies^∗ and Microsoft’s LINQ efforts which, among other benefits, bring frameworkers closer to the elegance and succinctness worn on the sleeves of Ruby and Smalltalk developers. Nice to have, optionally.

In all, let this raise no fists. This isn’t an article of allegiance. No, it’s most definitely a blog post. An opinion and a venue within which to distribute it. Credit here is being given where warranted, post due. The tout war will exist so long as developers still enjoy coffee or see morning, and frankly, it most definitely should. The change in practice I’ve noticed may be to a great degree attributed to it, and the voice of the community is sure to affect more change. Just don’t lend that voice to me. Things are better for Microsoft platform development, and however you slice it, if you sit in this industry, your life is easier. Go smell the roses.