the new dp
Went to see Dilated Peoples at Saint Andrews Hall in Detroit, MI last evening. Good show, the Dilated crew is gradually establishing themselves as the best of LAX, and even one of the best within indie/underground hip-hop. Was a little light on the new 20/20 album, as I was expecting more, but you got to please the 'hits' crowd who revel in Platform and Expansion Team. My favorite is still Neighborhood Watch, but 20/20 is solid.
What was not so solid was one of the opening acts, no not Little Brother, but rather this Defari character. Who is this guy? I know the hard core fans will show love for his being around since the beginning of DP, but that is pretty much exactly my thing against him. Plus, he is a moron. His tune about coming home 'buzzed' and confronting a significant other, and recommendation to the audience for their general use was, "Bitch, shut the fuck up, bitch". No doubt, those were his words.
Do they make people like him still? I wish I could give the entire 30 minute skit its due analysis by devolving in to more details, but I can't remeber much beyond his out-sized bravado, and his imperatives that the crowd get with him, even though he had nearly no style. Now, I can understand that I could get myself in to a tight situation with some DP fans, but I call it like I see it, and this guy has no future if he sticks with his current trend towards inflammatory mysoginist tactics. Lets be straight, last night was in good measure a guys kind of crowd, with few females to mingle with.
But the women that were in the front, namely African-American women, began to retreat from the front section of the crowd when Defari was gyrating and yelling "Bitch, shut the..." I have nothing but love for California hip-hop, especially Quannum crew and DP, but I cannot be fooled in to being down with someone who thrives on old CA hip-hop. New school is here, brother, join in.
As for DP, you guys are all on, thanks for the show.
Word...
CWebb convo.
Dooley:
Your "facts" are devoid of context, which is something that I thought reporters specialize in. I am sure there were moments when great players don't have the best statistics, but their contributions are intangibles, maybe you have heard of it. I am also sure you are aware that this is a team sport, and it is not Webber's position to dictate how others play around him, at times. I believe in the sport of basketball to be a contribution from like-minded individuals who are looking to win - - whether Korver hits the three or not while Webber or Iverson is in the game is not the measure of player's contributions to winning. If you want to get in to a conversation about contributions on the court, lets look at all relevant statistics, nuances, and attitudes. This article may be a good starter for you:
http://www.nba.com/sixers/features/webber_060205.htmlAlso, I could showcase some Bibby-Webber highlights for you against the Mavs, Lakers, Wolves, and Jazz in successive playoff runs, something that Iverson has not been able to do since Eric Snow was the best guard defender in the NBA (should tell you how far the league has come since AI was last relevant). Fine, I don't like Iverson, and you don't like Webber, maybe we are at a stalemate, but don't try and be another in a long-run of analysts who write off Chris because he doesn't dunk as much. Your comment about shooting a "dismal 42%" is a joke, when considering that he is on the same team as Iverson
I don't know where you learned your basketball from, but it takes a bigger man than you to play with Iverson after enjoying true basketball in the past, again your rec. league team changes don't count here, if you even play. I get so sick of hearing from writers who think that by sensationalizing the statistical negatives, you disregard that the guy is a career 20-10 and 3+ assists player, while building winning teams. Maybe your job would be easier if Chris was gone and you could write a semi-annual piece on how it is good to have a younger "nucleus" around Iverson, but it would not make the Sixers better. Ultimately as a new fan of the organization, that is what I am hoping for, and though I am not so naive, as to think that this is what sports reporters would want, that is why I am on your case. You are a phony, hiding behind the guise of a single number that does not mask your contempt for Webber's game. I dare you to write something more about Chris' ineffectual game, you can now count on me to be all over it.
I would send you my post Spartan NCAA tourney win, Pistons Championship, Iverson trade t-shirt to you, but I just assume you still won't get it...
Kevin Roberts from Philly newspaper:
Hey, time out ...I don't "dislike Webber," as you're arguing. I don't have any feelings onWebber one way or the other; I'm just forming an opinion based on the facts --and not those quote-marks-around-them facts, actual facts (within the "context"of, you know, all the games they've played).The debate is about the value of trading Iverson. To support this, you'd haveto argue one of two things -- that you can blow up the Sixers, get cheap andrebuild through the draft, OR that the Sixers get better without him. Theirsalary structure (particularly -- but not limited to -- Webber's contract)makes it darn near impossible to really blow it up and rebuild. Strangely,there is not a great trade market for Webber; the Sixers seem kind of stuckwith him, which is odd given how good you think he is. And you simply can'targue that the Sixers would be better in short term without Iverson. The factsstate very clearly that when Iverson isn't on the floor, the Sixers fall off acliff. The Sixers' fates don't change appreciably whether Webber is on thefloor or not (witness their victory over Chicago without him 2/25).So I just can't argue that the Sixers should trade Iverson. Iverson got a teamto the finals, we saw it. It's possible. Webber, who is such a winning player,has never gotten a team to the finals. In fact, he's never won anything. He gotclose at Michigan, but then Michigan had to cheat to get there, a circumstanceall my good friends in Michigan surely remember with great pride ...There's simply no evidence for your argument. If the intangibles Webber bringsmake the Sixers better, why aren't they better with him on the floor? They'renot. They're just not. You dismiss comments about Webber's shooting percentageas a joke, but you should take a moment and do some actual research. Among NBApower forwards, Webber ranks last in shooting percentage. DEAD-ASS LAST IN THE
than Webber. You can look it up. I did.Meanwhile, your only evidence is a story written by A GUY WHO WORKS FOR THESIXERS. Yeah, good one. I mean, come on. You\'re kidding, right? Don\'t you haveanything better than that? Anything at all?Perhaps you don\'t. The weird, saracastic shots at my playing career are simplyoutrageous, in addition to being wildly irrelevant. For no good reason at all,you\'ve chosen to insult the coaches I played for, the teammates I played with,and the work I put in. You should be better than that. Or maybe you\'re not ...Either way, unless you can come up with some actual arguments, evidence, facts,anything of value besides your man-crush on Chris Webber, I can\'t keep arguingabout what you WANT to be true. It\'s kind of a waste of time, and besides thatit\'s boring, slapping you around like this. Bores me ...So good luck with the life you\'ve carved out for yourself. And, as always, thansk for reading,
kev
glassfish v. jboss?
In the emerging drama that is enterprise Java middleware platforms, I would like to provide some background as to the probable key development in the market for 2006: the introduction of a legitimate competitor to JBoss, in the form of Glassfish. I have written extensively about both, and have even covered the also-ran app server platforms that vie for JBoss' attention, but really only Glassfish appears positioned to be an alternative. Let's start by giving you punters a link to the command central of the Glassfish community, the Aquarium:
http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/theaquariumNow, lets talk about what would be a true competition, if either party dares to compete with the other. Marc sounded off first last summer around Java One, when Glassfish was introduced:
http://jboss.org/jbossBlog/blog/mfleury/2005/06/06/SUN_open_sources_XYZ_who_cares.txtAnd since he has done nothing but admire the software moves of Sun lately, it would seem that he and his advisors are coming to terms with the next OSS JEE platform, and that it would be wise for JBoss to welcome the entrant rather than pick a fight. Why is this? Well that is the topic of this entry, lets get to it...
When JBoss first ran in to app servers, they were running in to a highly fragmented market of proprietary solutions, masked as standards-based under the guise of the J2EE Compatibility Kit. With a mantra, a cause, and a legit solution, it did not take long for JBoss to take advantage of the grand dysfunction of the no-portability Java enterprise market. Only WebSphere and WebLogic also benefitted from the JBoss scenario because they out-marketed everyone else, but in particular, incorrectly convinced customers that the app server market was gradually and definitively turning in to a natural duopolistic market. For every Oracle, there is DB2; for every Windows, there is Java; for every Netscape, there is, er, IE, and on and on. However, what Sun proved (I'll take a bow now for Sun ONE Application Server 7) is that standards matter, and provide choice, but only when implemented purely. By 2002, JBoss had eliminated the existing low-end, and IBM and BEA had developed proprietary high-end functionality for every last feature they could think of (Development, Portal, Persistence, Integration, etc.). What Sun saved with the AS7 release was a viable low-end, and layed the ground work for Glassfish, two generations later.
In conjunction with the release of AS7, Oracle picked up Orion, Red Hat invested in JOnAS, and Apache inched towards Geronimo, leaving IBM and BEA to wonder how exactly they were going to make any money. Meanwhile, JBoss was devouring enterprise customers, as well as, and potentially more importantly, all ISVs and SIs in the Java middleware marketplace. It is circa 2005 that you can mark the moment when the oxygen evaporated in the high-end, proprietary app server market, leaving IBM to buy Gluecode (read: Geronimo), and BEA to introduce AquaLogic. That leaves us in 2006 seemingly without a real fight to be had. JBoss is taking WebLogic customers, IBM is re-tooling WebSphere customers, JOnAS is outfitting Red Hat customers, and Oracle, well, we don't know exactly what Oracle is doing with Fusion, but as this blog/ author has consistently stated for 1/5 years, it is only a matter of time that WebLogic finds a home. If you are paying attention, there is one remaining competitive platform un-accounted for: Glassfish.
Glassfish and JBoss will be battling for the future of Solaris customers, with the ancilliary prize of best OSS program also in contention for Windows server deployments. In other words, outside of Linux, Glassfish and JBoss will be competing for app server dominance. The somewhat ironic reality is that these two likely competitors are natural allies, for some forseeable future, and it is all in the name of JEE5/ejb3 portability. As long as Top Link does not get bastardized to be non-compatible with Hibernate, we are probably on the cusp of seeing a true, cross-platform enterprise Java apps market built around the Glassfish and JBoss shared mission, of standards-based implementations on the platform. JBoss should welcome this with open arms, as an opportunity to drain the swamp of all WebSphere customers not making a move to Geronimo/Linux, all WebLogic customers not porting to Fusion, and all legacy, non-.Net customers running on Windows. Meanwhile, with the continued deft leadership of MB and PP, Glassfish will eliminate WebLogic from the Sun GSO price-list, enabling portability across customers, and opening up the Java Economy to components, exposed as web services, inter-operable across platforms. With all that is at stake, Marc would be crazy not to take this side-agreement, even if it means he cannot be an immediate monopoly of app servers.
With JBI-enabled ESBs bringing SOA to the IT shops of large, as well as mid-sized businesses around the global economy, Java apps become the de facto server-side implementation for discerning customers, leaving Sun happy with their unsigned JBoss collaboration. There will be .Net, I at least plan for it. But I also plan for a Glassfish and JBoss marketplace that finally implements the vision of countless individuals who built Enterprise Java, not as a proprietary solution for the benefit of Oracle and BEA to extend their customer lock-in, but as a tool for Java developers to take back control from the software vendors, and in turn, give that control back to customers, which is what will lead to larger IT budgets, more extensive implementations, and better economic fortune for all of those invested in the Java Economy. As has been said many times in this column, an independent JBoss transforms WebLogic from winner to also-ran, and a truly competitive Glassfish transforms JBoss in to a global brand on multiple paltforms. Marc, give this some thought, and make your competitive moves with this goal in mind.
As for PP, your victory is nearly at hand...
McNealy's last gasp
This Blog has called for Scott's resignation for the past 6-9 months:
http://douglasdooley.blogspot.com/2005/07/j1.htmlBut it took something so benign as a CNet article to encourage me to stand up and re-call for his successor to be chosen, named, and appointed by the Board:
http://news.com.com/Old+Sun+management+once+stalled+Project+Orion/2100-1010_3-6044428.html?tag=cd.topI am tired of the non-software strategy at Sun to be consistently presented as the market leader, as I have made clear in past posts. The only thing resembling a strategy is Glassfish and Clustra/JBI integration to be presumably announced at Java One this year. Wait, no all of the single server, non fail-over editions oif JEE 5 will be announced, but there will be no movement toward app server integration of EJB3 fail-over and ESB capabilities. But as for Sun, let's do our quarterly re-cap of where the software strategy stands:
Web Server - - only for die-hard Netscapees
LDAP - - legacy business
Net Beans - - gasping for air
Creator - - a solution looking for a problem
Portal - - D.O.A.
J2ME - - no business apps
Star - - no momentum
Open Solaris - - ?
Only the application server stands in any repute, and it looks to be taking mind-share from WebLogic, if not JBoss (though the latter is not in direct competition for Solaris deals...yet). But this has been under the guidance of MB and PP and not RS and maybe not even without much oversight by JS. With that said, it is time to give JS the reigns. As AV pointed out:
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/02/28/sun_bech_orbust/There is really only one stoyr that is going to pull the company through and that ix x86, with T1 SPARC being a good option for the high-end installed base. It is going to be the T1000 and 2000 that make or break Sun's next several years, and this is not McNealy's game to play. By him suggesting that it is everyone else's problem that Orion was late and ineffectual, he is signaling to his remaining supporters that he will do anything to keep his job, including taking down those who stood for him. Like I did.
I made my moves in 2001, '02, and '03 to build a relationship and an app server business, only to be cut loose without support from the top. Now with my efforts on versions 6 and 7, versions 8 and 9 are about to take back the market on Unix from BEA. To suggest that people who I knew and worked for, and some who I supported are/were responsible for the "slow-moving train wreck" that is Sun's software revenue is an outrage to those who gave a good piece of their careers to Sun, and in some places, directly to SM, such as MT, in particular. Where is the similiar outrage? Because Scott has made a parlor game of his efforts to remain Chariman, and this has cost Sun customers. Everytime that BEA gets propped up by Sun, you can read that as a weak CEO, being ineffectual in the management of his core assets. And yes I am referring to the app server program and the burdgeoning Glassfish initiative. I want his head, and I know I am not alone among his former supporters.
It is time to join the VCs, Scott, and make a come bck with thin clients, as this Blog has long advocated. You will not be able to accomplish as much, even as the leader of Sun Microsystems. You need to step down, take a break, come back, and be ready for when the Grid-wave is ready, you are clearly not understanding the Java middleware phase of the build-out and this is handing customers to enemies, such as IBM, Oracle, and BEA. These are no longer your allies, they are all taking billions from Sun every year. For the benefit of all of us who are in the trenches, and who continue to support you even with growing evidence to make us grow sick with despair, Get Out. Just two weeks ago, we nearly lost JBoss, what will it take for you to shed the blinders: a BEA acquisition attempt of SUNW?
While you consider the current realities, reach out to people who have supported you and just try and remove the maverick decision making process that is putting our careers at stake. You do not have until 2007 to make a move, do something for the kids, who will make the payback to you in the longer-term, and if some of us have it right, that may not be so far off...
