NET Saves Boy Down Well
Wilfred
Seymour Davis-Larson, Techno-Journalist
In the early hours of the morning, .NET,
Microsoft's platform for XML Web services, saved a five-year-old boy who
fell down a well in Ottumwa, Iowa. Erwin Trickle apparently fell down the
thirty foot well and became stuck while in pursuit of a prairie dog. Local
authorities were alerted, and spent 16 hours at the site attempted to remove
the boy from the narrow opening.
At his wit's end, Ottumwa Sherriff Buck
Bettendorf contact Microsoft's head office in Redmond, Washington, hoping
for a solution. Bettendorf spoke with Microsoft Solutions, who assured
him that .NET could solve any problem he might encounter. "I was durned
skeptical at first," Bettendorf stated, "but them folks in Washington
told me that this .NET 'enables an unprecedented level of software integration
through the use of XML Web services: small, discrete, building-block applications
that connect to each other--as well as to other, larger applications--via
the Internet.' Well, I said to my deputy, if that ain't gonna save little
Erwin, nothing will."
The Sherriff's Office IT expert spent the
next 34 hours installing .NET on the department computer network. Bettendorf
applauded the simple installation process. "We had to put an extension
onto the kitchen to store all the CDs, but other than that it was easier
than shooting pigs in a barrel". During the delay, the boy was forced
to devour the prairie dog who shared his plight.
The architecture of savior. As a photo was unavailable, Little Erwin
is represented by BackStreet Boy Kevin "Train" Richardson.
Bettendorf described the rescue process.
"Once the thing was installed, well, hell, it pretty-much ran itself.
I guess that's why they call it 'no-touch' deployment. We just fired that
baby up and wizz-bang-a-doodle, it had that boy out of the well in a matter
of minutes. Plus, it balanced the department's books, got us some apple
fritters and impregnated our receptionist, Mary-Lou. This .NET Framework
the cat's meow. Course, we're still not exactly sure what it is. Nobody
at Microsoft could tell us, either." |
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