not sure, I just got this in my inbox today. Granted, it's from a training center.
On May 19, 2009, at 1:01 PM, Dana wrote: > > That's the same one from a while back, right? > > On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 11:56 AM, Zaphod Beeblebrox > <zaph0d.b33bl3b...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> By Linda Leung >> >> >> >> There are some things in life, like good manners, which never go out >> of style, and there are other things, like clothing styles that fall >> in and out of fashion, but when an IT skill falls out of favor it >> rarely ever comes back. Here's our list of 10 dying IT skills. If any >> of these skills are your main expertise, perhaps it's time to >> retrain. >> >> 1. Asynchronous Transfer Mode: ATM was popular in the late-1990s, >> particularly among carriers, as the answer to overworked frame relay >> for wide-area networking. It was considered more scalable than frame >> relay and offered inherent QoS support. It was also marketed as a LAN >> platform but that was its weakness. According to Wikipedia, ATM >> failed >> to gain wide acceptance in the LAN where IP makes more sense for >> unifying voice and data on the network. Wikipedia notes that ATM will >> continue to be deployed by carriers that have committed to existing >> ATM deployments, but the technology is increasingly challenged by >> speed and traffic shaping requirements of converged voice and data >> networks. A growing number of carriers are now using Multi-Protocol >> Label Switching (MPLS), which integrates the label-switching >> capabilities of ATM with the packet orientation of IP. IT skills >> researcher Foote Partners listed ATM in its IT Skills and >> Certification Pay Index as a noncertified IT skill that has decreased >> in value in the last six month of 2008. >> >> 2. Novell NetWare: Novell's network operating system was the defacto >> standard for LANs in the 1990s, running on more than 70% of >> enterprise >> networks. But Novell failed to compete with the marketing might of >> Microsoft. Novell tried to put up a good fight by acquiring >> WordPerfect to compete with Windows Office, but that move failed to >> ignite the market and Novell eventually sold WordPerfect to Corel in >> 1996. Novell certifications such as Certified Novell Engineer, Master >> Certified Novell Engineer, Certified Novell Certified Directory >> Engineer, and Novell Administrator were once hot certs in the >> industry >> but now they are featured in Foote Partners' list of skills that >> decreased in value in 2008. Hiring managers want Windows Server and >> Linux skills instead. >> >> 3. Visual J++: Skills pay for Microsoft's version of Java declined >> 37.5% last year, according to the Foote Partners' study. The life >> of J+ >> +, which is available with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, was not a >> smooth one. Although Sun Microsystems licensed Java to Microsoft to >> develop J++, Microsoft failed to implement some features of the >> official Java standard while implementing other extensions of its >> own. >> Sun sued Microsoft for licensing violations in a legal wrangle that >> lasted three years. Microsoft eventually replaced J++ with >> Microsoft .Net. >> >> 4. Wireless Application Protocol: Yes, people were able to browse the >> Internet in the late 1990s before Apple's iPhone. Web site operators >> would rewrite their content to the WAP's Wireless Markup Language, >> enabling users to access Web services such as email, stock results >> and >> news headlines using their cell phones and PDAs. WAP was not well >> received at the beginning because WAP sites were slow and lacked the >> richness of the Web. WAP has also seen different levels of uptake >> worldwide because of the different wireless regulations and standards >> around the world. WAP has since evolved and is a feature of >> Multimedia >> Messaging Service, but there are now a new generation of competing >> mobile Web browsers, including Opera Mobile and the iPhone's Safari >> browser. >> >> 5. ColdFusion: ColdFusion users rave that this Web programming >> language is easy to use and quick to jump into, but as many other >> independent software tools have experienced, it's hard to compete >> with >> products backed by expensive marketing campaigns from Microsoft and >> others. The language was originally released in 1995 by Allaire, >> which >> was acquired by Macromedia (which itself was purchased by Adobe). >> Today, it superseded by Microsoft .Net, Java, PHP and the language of >> the moment: open source Ruby on Rails. A quick search of the >> Indeed.com job aggregator site returned 11,045 jobs seeking PHP >> skills >> compared to 2,027 CF jobs. Even Ruby on Rails, which is a much newer >> technology receiving a major boost when Apple packaged it with OS X >> v10.5 in 2007, returned 1,550 jobs openings on Indeed.com. >> >> 6. RAD/Extreme Programming: Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s >> the >> rapid application development and extreme programming development >> philosophies resulted in quicker and more flexible programming that >> embraced the ever changing needs of customers during the development >> process. In XP, developers adapted to changing requirements at any >> point during the project life rather than attempting to define all >> requirements at the beginning. In RAD, developers embraced >> interactive >> use of structured techniques and prototyping to define users' >> requirements. The result was accelerated software development. >> Although the skills were consistently the highest paying in Foote >> Partners survey since 1999, they began to lose ground in 2003 due to >> the proliferation of offshore outsourcing of applications >> development. >> >> 7. Siebel: Siebel is one skill that makes a recurring appearance in >> the Foote Partners' list of skills that have lost their luster. >> Siebel >> was synonymous with customer relationship management in the late-90s >> and early 2000s, and the company dominated the market with a 45% >> share >> in 2002. Founded by Thomas Siebel, a former Oracle executive with no >> love lost for his past employer, Siebel competed aggressively with >> Oracle until 2006 when it was ultimately acquired by the database >> giant. Siebel's complex and expensive CRM software required experts >> to >> install and manage. That model lost out to the new breed of software- >> as-a-service (SaaS) packages from companies such as Salesforce.com >> that deliver comparable software over the Web. According to the >> U.K.'s >> ITJobsWatch.com site, Siebel experts command an average salary of >> GBP52,684 ($78,564), but that's a slide from GBP55,122 a year ago. >> Siebel is ranked 319 in the job research site's list of jobs in >> demand, compared to 310 in 2008. >> >> 8. SNA: The introduction of IP and other Internet networking >> technologies into enterprises in the 1990s signaled the demise of >> IBM's proprietary Systems Network Architecture. According to >> Wikipedia, the protocol is still used extensively in banks and other >> financial transaction networks and so SNA skills continue to appear >> in >> job ads. But permanent positions seeking SNA skills are few and far >> between. ITJobsWatch.com noted that there were three opening for >> permanent jobs between February and April, compared to 43 during the >> same period last year. Meanwhile, companies such as HP offer >> consultants with experience in SNA and other legacy skills such as >> OpenVMS and Tru64 Unix for short-term assignments. >> >> 9. HTML: We're not suggesting the Internet is dead but with the >> proliferation of easy to use WYSIWYG HTML editors enabling non- >> techies >> to set up blogs and Web pages, Web site development is no longer a >> black art. Sure, there's still a need for professional Web developers >> (see the ColdFusion entry above for a discussion about Java and PHP >> skills) but a good grasp of HTML isn't the only skill required of a >> Web developer. Professional developers often have expertise in Java, >> AJAX, C++ and .Net, among other programming languages. HTML as a >> skill >> lost more than 40% of its value between 2001 and 2003, according to >> Foote Partners. >> >> 10. COBOL: Is it dead or alive? This 40-year-old programming language >> often appears in lists of dying IT skills but it also appears in as >> many articles about organizations with legacy applications written in >> Cobol having a hard time seeking workers with Cobol skills. IBM cites >> statistics that 70% of the world's business data is still being >> processed by Cobol applications. But how many of these applications >> will remain in Cobol for the long term? Even IBM is pushing its >> customers to "build bridges" and use service-oriented architecture to >> "transform legacy applications and make them part of a fast and >> flexible IT architecture." >> About the Author >> >> Linda Leung is an independent writer/editor in California. Reach >> Linda >> at leung...@gmail.com. >> >> >> So if you want to love me >> then darlin' don't refrain >> Or I'll just end up walkin' >> In the cold November rain >> >> >> >> >> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? Let them know on the House of Fusion mailing lists Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:297294 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
