Though the research and work on the post “When we are needed” has put me behind schedule on several tasks I need to finish, the effort was worthwhile in that it gave me a chance to think through my plans going forward in regards to technology.
I really enjoy working with technology, and this isn’t going to change because of the turtles (find definition for ‘turtles’ in “When we are needed” a couple of posts back). I would like to continue working with technology but, unfortunately, turtles can impact on this. However, the more significant impact is the fact that I’ve focused on working with open source technology in a town that works, almost exclusively, with either Java or .NET.
I’ve worked with Java for years, but am burned out on it and frankly, I think it’s a pig now. What’s more important, though, is that Java in St. Louis also means experience with WebSphere, which I don’t have. I’ve also worked with Microsoft development technologies for years, and though .NET is also a pig, it is a more interesting pig, and a technology I can see myself working in again. Especially with VB or C# or ASP, of which I’ve always been fond.
I also want to get some experience in developing for the Mac, but frankly, there is no employment for Mac development in St. Louis. As for AJAX and the new scripting, I’m experienced with DHTML and don’t need to refresh my skills in this area. I just need to tweak my resumé to reflect the new terminology.
Still, the employment opportunities are in .NET. The challenge is that I don’t have any of the .NET software to update and refresh my skills. This includes WindowsXP, and Visual Studio .NET 2003, though I notice there is a beta release of VS 2005 I might be able to get for a ‘nominal fee’ the page says. However, I imagine this won’t work on Windows 2000, which is what I’m running on my dual boot (Ubuntu Linux being the other half of the dual). I also imagine that employers will want VS 2003 experience.
Does anyone have an extra copy of Windows XP and/or Visual Studio .NET 2003 they’d be willing to give me, perhaps in exchange for autographed RDF or Unix books and/or photographs? I’d be ever so grateful, and you could consider it your contribution to the Kick the Turtles in the Butt campaign.
