On 21/01/2012, at 9:56 PM, Casey Ransberger wrote: > > Thanks for your passionate words. I hope you'll forgive my natural > predisposition to supply a counter-argument. It turns out that I can barely > help it, it's just my nature:) > > Here's a project where we have some people trying to do something that a lot > of people have wanted to try, but haven't gotten around to. This is something > which is in a sense completely new; yes, most of us work in several languages > on a daily basis. But are these the right set of languages to get our work > done most efficiently? Is there a better set? > > And: while artists in other fields were able to stand on the shoulders of > giants, programmers, generally speaking (and this is my own feeling,) have to > stand on a pile of dogshit. > > While we could criticize this work as shipping late, we might also note that > most software projects ship both late and *over budget.* > > Here's a project, even a *research* project, that's shipping late strictly > because in four years, these people were able to come in so far under budget > as to buy themselves another year of invention. > > Tom West called it "pinball," you work your ass off, you do a good job, and > if you're lucky, they let you do it again. One of the things he was famous > for was "pinching his quarters," because the real game wasn't what he was > doing then, it was about what he was doing *next.* > > West was banking everything he had to get a free ball. > > I'd like to express my unrepentant, unapologetic congratulations to > *everyone* who was a part of making this unique, fantastic inquiry last a > full year longer than we thought it would, and for involving the unwashed > industrial masses (read: me) in the conversation. > > This continues to enrich my life and I'm damned happy to see it go on another > year. > > > Thank you. > > Excelsior! > > > Casey Ransberger
I'm in agreement, Casey. I didn't see the project is "shipping late", but rather "under-budget so able to extend another year". I was actually quite happy to see it go on a further year. Besides, it's not as though the products of the project haven't gone unannounced, unreleased or are in any way secret - quite the opposite. Where they have been finished as much as to be useful, they've been released as experimental prototypes or even working systems. Sure, Frank isn't "out" yet... but as far as I understand it even Frank isn't the final "product", but rather part of a precursor to a more polished set of ideas which exist as simples and beautiful integrated pieces of "executable art". (Just as Smalltalk and Self were, in my opinion). This kind of work is not the same as "normal" projects that proceed in a linear fashion IMHO. Truly innovative works never proceed in time in the "normal" way, as far as I am able to see. I hope I haven't caused any offence by writing this. I just feel - like you, Casey - that something needs to be contributed to this discussion in the contrasting position. I'll leave it at that. Much Love, Julian _______________________________________________ fonc mailing list [email protected] http://vpri.org/mailman/listinfo/fonc
