• On TechRepublic: 10 most annoying default configurations
May 10, 2008 6:35 AM PDT

Maybe Microsoft isn't completely useless on the web, after all

by Matt Asay

I admit that Microsoft's software wouldn't be my first choice for building a web application, but a small consultancy decided to give it a whirl with its Meet with Approval application. As is often the case with Microsoft (to its credit and shame), its tools took care of the heavy lifting of writing code:

Visual Studio provides a number of prebuilt web controls that we were able to drag and drop onto our pages and allowed us to get a considerable way before having to write any code. A criticism of this approach is that such controls output bad HTML or restrict design however we did not find this. We were impressed by the way in which .NET produced relatively little code and we were able to apply all styling via CSS. Visual Studio 2008 offers a full WYSIWYG editor with CSS support that we found to be better than Dreamweaver although we did find rendering problems within the IDE when coding for cross browser CSS.

So, pluses and minuses. But what about the end result?

Pretty good, according to the developers and according to a quick review of the site. That said, plenty of critics have weighed in suggesting that the same results could be had more cheaply and in a more sustainable fashion using open-source tools.

Either way, I suspect such easy Microsoft development will appeal to a significant percentage of the potential web developer population. Not everyone is born to be a rock-star developer. Microsoft has always been a blessing to those born average, which just happens to be most of us, unfortunately.

I'm not suggesting that everyone run out and buy Microsoft's tools for web development. Hardly. But perhaps Microsoft isn't completely evil, after all. It has a little, itsy bitsy shred of goodness in it. His name is Sam, but we're hoping he's infectious. :-)

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Recent posts from The Open Road
What soccer team would your company be?
Open-source licensing: Your mileage may vary
Open source to shape cloud computing, but not dominate it
Off-topic: Why can't I have this job?
Legalized drugs, now open source. Those crazy Dutch!
Will 'good enough' virtualization topple VMware?
Linux community codes around Microsoft's FAT patents
As Mozilla 'upgrades the Web,' Microsoft must upgrade its pace
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (4 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by Simplicius May 10, 2008 7:22 AM PDT
"Either way, I suspect such easy Microsoft development will appeal to a significant percentage of the potential web developer population."

That's part of the reason why there are so many substandard websites out there that are a pain to use. Or shall I say 'non-standard'?

"Microsoft has always been a blessing to those born average"

I'm not sure. It's both a blessing and a curse. It has helped the average never go beyond average.
Reply to this comment
by The_Decider May 10, 2008 9:39 AM PDT
It is not much of a blessing to allow people that don't really understand what they are doing to write code. In fact, it is a very bad thing.

It is the primary reason there is so much crap ware in existence.
Reply to this comment
by seo2seo May 10, 2008 10:35 AM PDT
"we did find rendering problems within the IDE when coding for cross browser CSS."

Translation: "It's been cunningly designed to look stupid in Firefox"

No surprises there, then.
Reply to this comment
by Tony McCune May 11, 2008 4:54 AM PDT
The "problems with rendering" cross browser will slow adoption if the apps on the web. Not sure the official Firefox adoption rate but we are seeing 38% Firefox at http://www.digitalchalk.com in the past 30 days. It only takes one or two times of having to hand-tweak CSS to before a good coder throws a bad tool in the dust bin.
Reply to this comment
(4 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement

Making sense of Windows 7 upgrades

faq The basics and the fine print on Microsoft's options for those eyeing the next operating system from Redmond.
• Full Windows 7 coverage

Road Trip 2009: Big Sky Country

CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman takes his car full of gadgets to the Rockies and the Great Plains in search of tech, science, nature, and more.
• America's Fortress: Cheyenne Mountain

About The Open Road

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

Add this feed to your online news reader

The Open Road topics

advertisement
advertisement
Click Here

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right