Re: Open Source Ref book

On Wednesday 03 March 2004 01:59 pm, Laura Creighton wrote:
> In a message of Wed, 03 Mar 2004 14:04:49 EST, Michael McLay writes:
> >The resistance to having Python presented at conferences such as this one
> >suggests that we aren't projecting the right message. Why aren't managers
> >interested in learning about Python?
>
> Are you sure the problem is that managers are not interested in learning
> about Python, as opposed to People who know Python are not giving talks
> to managers?  They were certaintly interested 2 years ago when Jacob
> Hallén gave a talk on Python ...

The lack of visibility of Python is quite likely contributing to the lack of 
interest on the part of manager. Java and C# are perceived as popular because 
they are talked about in the press more than Python. It is "safe" to stick 
with the popular languages because your competition is probably also using 
the technology. This decision making process is circular. Since they are 
popular they must have a big following and following the crowd is "safe". Why 
bother to learn about something that may not be a safe choice?

> If managers are not interested in learning about Python, then one
> reason is because many people prefer to hear talks that say 'what you
> are doing now is just fine' rather than 'you probably should be doing
> something else'.

They get a warm and fuzzy feeling when they hear more talks that support their 
current decision. That is why we need a message that projects Python as the 
next big change. They need to feel it is important to pay attention to 
Python. They need a reason to learn more about it. When they start thinking 
that Python may be a new "safe" technology then they will start to think that 
their current choice may not be as safe as it was when they started using the 
technology. 

Is it time to start emphasising that hardware technology improvements is 
making Python a significantly better option than the competition? Python is 
fast enough, and you get all the benefits of moving to a higher level of 
abstraction. The transition to SQL followed a similiar change in 
cost-benefits of software and hardware. The Google quote on the Python home 
page hasn't registered with the typical manager. If Google considered Python 
important, then perhaps they need to investigate why it might be important to 
them. If Python is fast enough for Google, then perhaps it is fast enough for 
most projects.