You may have already read on Ken Levy’s blog how he is planning on taking a new position inside of Microsoft. Congratulations Ken, and godspeed on your new project.
I suspect many people in the Fox Community will find this news a bit disheartening. The last nail in the Visual FoxPro coffin.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone, I don’t. I see it as a chance for fresh ideas and perspective from a new leader. I believe intelligent people need change in their careers. Especially in our business. Ken’s announcement confirms what I suspected for quite some time. I told Ken when I heard about his decision is I thought it was going to happen earlier last year. The only thing I am surprised about is the project where he is landing. I thought he was going to head over to Channel 9 and become the second Scoble. Guess the crystal ball was foggy on that one. {g}
How many of you have been in the same job, doing the same project for more than a few years? I am not talking about the same company, but literally doing the same thing for more than three years? Same code, same support calls, same status reports, same bosses, same development tool, same technology? I suspect there are a couple, but most of you are not raising your hands. Someone who is as smart as Ken is needs to do something different, and now is the right time to do so. I applaud his decision and his choice in jobs. Something totally different. I applaud someone willing to take risks.
I also know Alan Griver (yag) and Milind will not disappoint. They understand our needs because the Fox Community is not shy about telling them. I have known yag for years and he is as energetic today as he was when I first met him. I met Milind at the MVP Summit and at Southwest Fox and he really gets what our community is all about. They both understand what we like about VFP and how it really rocks when it comes to solving problems for our customers. Why do you think they want to enhance Visual Studio to incorporate Fox like data features?
I suspect you can put the Ken into Windows Live, but you cannot take the Fox out of him. It sounds like he is planning on attending Southwest Fox and other VFP events throughout the year. Knowing Ken and his relationship with the VS Data team, I even suspect he will still influence from afar.
In my personal career as a corporate developer I have found things flow in three year cycles. The first year everything is new, fresh and exciting. The second year is like putting on comfortable tennis shoes since you are up to speed and can solve most problems. The third year things get a little stagnant and boring, which ushers in the need for change. This was part of the reason I decided to move on to be an independent developer 5 years ago. I like things fresh and challenging and I get that with each new project and each new customer. So from that perspective, I really understand Ken’s decision.
So Ken, good luck with Windows Live. Thanks for your service to the Fox Community and to helping guide FoxPro to what it is today. VFP rocks!
