Confuse your enemies, amaze your friends...

I've been a developer on the Windows platform for ages, but it's certainly not the only thing I've developed on. I'm heavily identified as a Windows/.NET/C# guy, despite the fact that:

• I'm a huge Eiffel fan. I'd write Eiffel code every day if I could get gigs doing it. When I take over the world, you're all going to need Design by Contract training, so you might as well get started now. Don't get me wrong - I love C# and .NET, but my first OO love is Eiffel.
• In an earlier life segment I did quite a bit of geeky work on both the OS and application sides of the Ericsson MD110 PBX. I worked on synchronization, data communications, digital trunking for US-specific protocols, and call-logging. I also spent a few years on skunk-work projects for the local Ericsson company. There was no Windows code in the PBX or its operating system - although that is where I got my start in both object-oriented design (ca. 1988-1989) and Windows development (for external systems).
• I teach a totally platform and tool agnostic OOA/OOD course at UCI Extension, and I usually have 80% or so Java developers (probably because the course is in the Java Certificate track). We don't spend too much time talking about any sort of implementation - it's all design work.

So where is this leading? Lately, I've been firing up all kinds of alpha/beta/pre-alpha builds on VHDs. As more vendors come out with support for various WS-* specs, there's a mixed-bag of implementations available. I'm trying out different toolkits, making traces, being curious - basically doing things that any curious geek should be doing. I'm building up virtual disks with WebLogic, Axis, and Websphere bits - and I get all sorts of reactions. When people see a RedHat logo booting up on my box, they don't know what to think. I'm not switching teams, I'm not even going to be a very good Axis programmer - but it doesn't hurt to be able to speak the common lingo and interoperate with developers and architects from other cultures. If you walk past my desk and see me running something odd on my VPC, what you should probably think about is borrowing a VHD image from me... we'll all benefit from it.

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