Oh, and SQL Server 2008 Is Delayed
I want to tip my cap to
RDN columnist Peter Varhol who pointed me to
a
Joel
Spolsky blog post expressing profound exasperation at the way Microsoft
reveals delays. Spolsky savages the doublespeak found in
this
TechNet blog post by Microsoft Director of SQL Server Project Management
Francois Ajenstat, who reveals that SQL Server 2008 will be delayed by a full
quarter.
Spolsky pulls out this snip from Ajenstat's post, though the rest of it is
thick with the florid language of self-congratulation.
"We want to provide clarification on the roadmap for SQL Server 2008.
Over the coming months, customers and partners can look forward to significant
product milestones for SQL Server. Microsoft is excited to deliver a feature
complete CTP during the Heroes Happen Here launch wave and a release candidate
(RC) in Q2 calendar year 2008, with final release to manufacturing (RTM) of
SQL Server 2008 expected in Q3. Our goal is to deliver the highest quality
product possible and we simply want to use the time to meet the high bar that
you, our customers, expect."
For those who fell asleep before the good parts, SQL Server 2008 is delayed
until Q3.
Now, I'm not one to light into Microsoft for incremental product delays. Building
enterprise-class server software is hard, serious work. Delays can, and often
must, happen to ensure the quality of the final product. Furthermore, by all
accounts SQL Server 2005 has significantly raised the bar for the Redmond database
franchise, and the early buzz on the 2008 version is very positive. But this
is no way to talk to developers.
Fortunately, the Internet (a series of tubes, if you will) is there to speak
for us in the form of Simple-Talk columnist Phil Factor (no, not his real name).
In this
delicious parody, Mr. Factor shows how this Microsoft-speak might play out
if a student used it to answer a teacher's request for late homework.
Can Microsoft do a better job communicating to developers? What would you like
to see changed or improved? E-mail me at mdesmond@reddevnews.com.
Posted by Michael Desmond on 02/07/2008