Alan Yeo asked me to forward this to the OpenMPE list.

Well as the response to this posting has been devastatingly quiet, I 
thought I'd post my take on it.

"The Children who can't say Yes and can't say NO!"

That's it, children, just give the Merry-go-round another shove, just 
when passengers thought it was stopping and they could get off and get 
on with planning the rest of their lives. Oh yes, some of the children 
will be happy, the period before they have to decide which ride to take 
next has been extended. But for the adults who are either already behind 
schedule, or struggling to get attention-deficit children to concentrate 
on important decisions, it's just another frustrating delay.

Now it wouldn't be too bad if the very Careless Stupid Youngsters 
("vCSY") nudging the Merry-go-round onward weren't the vCSY who had 
planned the Merry-go-round's retirement, who had encouraged its 
customers and partners to seek out new more exciting future-proof rides. 
But No: To compound the disappointment they caused their passengers when 
they announced the ride was ending, they now have to say "We Lied, we 
didn't mean it, the ride's not ending yet!"

Is this because they think their passengers are still having the best 
ride in the fair? Or do they think if they can just keep it spinning 
under their control for a while longer, that there are another 3000 
pieces of silver to be extracted for their parents, the only Happy Party 
("HP")  in this.

And what of vCSY partners, and the encouragement they received to help 
transport the passengers to other rides when the Merry-go-round stopped? 
Or even those they encouraged to build an organisation to help the 
passengers who wanted to stay on the Merry-go-round and even maintain it 
after the ride had stopped? For yes, there was an organisation of such 
Open Minded Passengers Established ("OpenMPE") that hoped to provide 
counseling and support for those who chose to stay, and even to build a 
workshop to repair the Merry-go-round Physical Environment ("MPE") for 
them. What of OpenMPE's chances now? Why would anyone invest in them 
when they need it, if the HP and vCSY are going to keep the ride 
spinning and the MPE supported?

And what of those who vCSY encouraged to build the transport for the 
passengers to other rides? As their parents HP had no transport of their 
own, so they built the busses the planes and the trains, and even 
migrated some of the passengers to new rides. What are they to do now, 
just sit there with the engines running for a couple more years whilst 
the Merry-go-round spins on?

And what of those partners vCSY encouraged to build infrastructures to 
keep old Merry-go-rounds functioning and provide support for the MPE? 
For them the ride has been delayed for two more years. Has it reduced 
the number of potential passengers to the point where it may not be 
economic to hang around and wait.

And what of those passengers who vCSY forced to flee early to other 
rides, with threats of a failing ecosystem and that the ride would 
become unsafe unless they left before the cock crowed at the dawn of 
2007. Was their journey unnecessary, in pointless haste and at a higher 
cost than needed? If some of them felt pricked when vCSY announced the 
ride was to stop, some of them will surely feel stabbed in the back by 
the HP who lied.

So what can one say about these children who can't say Yes and can't say 
No, and for whom Maybe is a mantra? Would you trust the support of your 
Merry-go-round to them now? Would you trust them to help enable an 
ecosystem to maintain the MPE after they finally tire of it? Would you 
believe them if they told you Y2K came after 1999?

As for me, I would no longer give them the time of day, far less ask it 
of them, for fear they would get it wrong. What's so unfortunate is that 
it would be much nicer if one could believe that there was some great 
conspiracy within HP and with vCSY to completely jerk both their 
customers and partners around. But as someone else said today, "Plain 
Stupid" beats "Malevolent" most of the time.

And what do vCSY think they have done for the passengers on the 
Merry-go-round by keeping it spinning for another two years? If they 
actually had the ability to support the MPE environment it would be 
fine, but the average Third Party ISV now retains more expertise than 
the whole of vCSY. A Third Party will also know what a Merry-go-round is 
if you call them, and will probably charge far less than HP if you need 
spares or repairs for your Merry-go-round.

It's your dollar; spend it wisely. For he who pays the piper calls the 
tune, and if you want either uninterrupted music whilst you stay on, or 
to hear music when HP doesn't think the Merry-go-round is generating 
enough revenue anymore

This statement is subject to limitations and exclusions based on exact 
Merry-go-round configurations, geographic location, ride transition 
timelines, and other considerations. All characters are fictional and 
not intended to portray any person or organization living, dying or 
dead.

-- 
Alan Yeo
[log in to unmask]    Just because you're paranoid
Phone +44 1684 291710   it doesn't mean someone isn't!.
Fax   +44 1684 291712