The-Source.com

This is strange.

The Treasure

I ran across some interesting quotes allegedly from Miguel de Icaza:

Microsoft has shot the .NET ecosystem in the foot because of the constant threat of patent infringement that they have cast on the ecosystem [...] Unlike the Java world that is blossoming with dozens of vibrant Java Virtual Machine implementations, the .NET world has suffered by this meme spread by [Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer] that they would come after people that do not license patents from them.

You don’t say?

And there’s this too, on the subject of how limited Microsoft’s actual standardization efforts are:

It never went into other areas like server APIs, GUI APIs, or even updating some of the core to include LINQ, the DLR and many others.

Good stuff, right? It’s Microsoft MVP but MDNAA¹ Miguel de Icaza acknowledging and perhaps – if you squint just a bit – agreeing with a couple of the concerns that us wacky zealots are always rudely mentioning.

There’s some more interesting quotes, too – but I don’t want to get into those just yet.

The Hunt

I know this will startle the Gentle Reader, but I actually try to check and verify stuff. It’s how I pretend I have integrity.

So I plugged the quote into Google and found a few references, all of which linked the SD Times article “Does Windows cost Microsoft opportunites?” allegedly by David Worthington.

Oh – don’t bother with that last link. It’s a 404. The article isn’t in the list of articles by the author David Worthington as listed on the SD Times site either.

Google cache has it though. It certainly appears like the story was out there, and was on SD Times, and contained the alleged quotes from Mr. de Icaza.

The Question(s)

Why is this article no longer up on SD Times?

Are all the quotes attributed to Mr. de Icaza in the article genuine? (If they are I have more to say about some of them!)

3-26 Updates:

Miguel de Icaza on his blog.

David Worthington on his twitter.

Slashdot story.

ItWire story. (Which mentions me! Huzzah!)

3-27 Updates:

Bruce Byfield on the whole sordid affair, in which I am awarded the title “free software advocate”. I shall have business cards annotated forthwith!

Slashdot on the Bruce Byfield piece

It’s getting all terribly self-referential, so here’s my own follow-up to this in which I finally get to do what I originally wanted (address Mr. de Icaza’s statements).

¹ Most Definitely Not An Apologist