Having The Best Toys

Over the years, I have noticed that many developers are male, and males like toys. In our case, our tools are our toys. And, of course, everybody wants to have the best toys. This leads to all sorts of nonsense – it leads to a cult-like devotion to certain products and technologies. It also leads some developers to devalue those who choose to employ ot promote a different set of tools. In many cases, there is a near hatred of competing technologies and the people associated with them.

This has many causes, I am sure, but I just want to say this: my favorite toy is my brain. I have been both challenged and excited by every technology I have been exposed to. I do not “hate” Windows, nor do I fear Linux. When I told my friend Joel, who works at Microsoft, that I had installed Linux on one of machines at home, he joke, “Oh no, Jim, don’t go over to the dark side.” That was a few years ago and I have never looked back.

I enjoy the challenge of working with most technologies, but I enjoy the process rather than the tool. I also believe that the quality of the code I write is determined by me, not by my choice of tool. I would rather hire someone like me than someone who uses a specific tool.
To use an analogy: it would be silly to believe that I could write better short stories with Microsoft Office than I could with OpenOffice. It would be just as silly to believe that one must use the word “because” in a novel or it is doomed to be second rate. It could be noted that every novel every write has used the word, but that does not mean that the word “because” is mandatory. Every carpenter has a favorite hammer, I am sure, but to each his own, I say.
I like smart people. I like good ideas. I like good workmanship. I like craft and discipline. I like to have fun. This influences the way I use various products more than it influences my choice of technologies. Let a thousand flowers bloom!

It’s the fanaticism I hate, not the tools. It’s negativity, criticism and narrow-mindedness I despise. It’s arrogance and ego that turns my stomach.