ah. I thought I was the only one who got email like that ;) On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 12:18 PM, Zaphod Beeblebrox <zaph0d.b33bl3b...@gmail.com> wrote: > > 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 >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> > >
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