By now you've all heard news about Oracle's intention to purchase Sun Microsystems for $7.4B. Almost every person I've spoken with today is not happy about this. Not happy because Oracle is not a research organization. Not happy because IBM would have been the best place for Java to land. Not happy because of what it might mean for MySQL. Not happy because Oracle is generally not regarded for their hardware platform (I speak without a solid understanding of Oracle's business model.)
The joke today is "I better brush up on my {C++,. NET, Python}" "Thank goodness for Sqlite." And after that, there's generally a lot of worry about how this is all going to play out.
I say, take that angst and learn something with it. You think Java's future has just been cut short? Go learn Python. Or Ruby. Or even Scala or .NET. Hell, it doesn't have to be something related to the Sun/Oracle merger. If you're worried that something as relatively insignificant as one company purchasing another renders you stagnant, then go prove to yourself that you can still learn something new.
Do it. Because even if the dire predictions are wrong, you'll have gained a new perspective.
1 comment:
" If you're worried that something as relatively insignificant as one company purchasing another renders you stagnant, then go prove to yourself that you can still learn something new."
So true. I was just thinking something like that this morning. I've recently re-subscribed to JavaLobby et al, realizing that I don't know thing one about Java 7, or what the current state of J2EE is. I used to be up on all this stuff before .... well, you know. Now, it's all NIH and I feel behind the times. Thanks for the kick in the pants.
Oh, and I for one welcome Sun's new Oracle overlords.
Post a Comment