At PCtyrant we never tire of the relentless ad hominem attacks, techno-weenie nitpicking and rambling sentence structure of our "readers' feedback" section. Of course, if you have something nice or coherent to say that would also be appreciated. Send all letters to the editor to mailto:reeedersfeedback@pctyrant.com

Dear Sirs,
I normally do not take the time to bother and write publications such as
yours, however I was and am still really infuriated with the review you gave
of Sara Michelle Gellar's latest book, "Data Structures & Alogrhythm
Analysis in Java." What a farce! This book would be better listed under your
Dummies for Dummies article.

It is true, Miss Gellar has long been admired within the programming
industry for her hard-nosed approach to seemingly unsurmountable problems.
This time out I feel that she had one of her producers or boyfriends
actually write the thing. This book is just lacking.

While she did address Effectiveness, Termination and Generality, she missed
the boat completely in terms of Effecientcy and Elegance. I mean, would you
be into this string of code?

.

I wouldn't program my toaster
with that! It is just sloppy, short sighted and worst of all insulting.
Please cancell my subscription and all that.

Sincerely
Toby McGuire

Dear Editor:
I thoroughly enjoyed the article on the repurposed music technology that is making its way into 'smart homes' everywhere. I should have known that there was no future for that X10 protocol that sends control information over household wiring, in a proprietary way I might add. Even though of course each controller can have up to 16 home codes, and each controller can send 16 unit codes, thereby giving a similar 16*16 = 256 different appliance addresses (same as the Casio KTC-731 mentioned in the article). One advantage that X10 has at this point, though is the capability to send control signal wirelessly, but I am sure that the makers of wireless Midi guitar controllers are working at breakneck speed to retrofit their technology to blenders, microwave ovens, and even Cuisinarts for all I know. I'd bet fashion-conscious housewives will be thrilled to dump those geeky-looking MIDI cables. Matter of fact there are industry rumors that the theremin-like Midi controllers that sense a performer's movement in space are getting a new lease on life, where manufacturers are doing market analysis that suggests the average homemaker would love to whirl through her kitchen like a banshee, conducting her dishwasher, oven, and other appliances small and large in a frenzy of creativity.

But I digress. The main reason I am writing is of course Microsoft subtle ploy to take over this industry just as it starts to go mainstream. A keen reviewer of nascent technological initiatives as yourself is probably aware of Microsoft's so-called '.NET' initiative. Of course, most analysts have concluded that this is the behemoth replaying its 'me,too' strategy, this time targeting the internet development environments where up to now the lead has been taken by smaller, leaner players. That's what MS would have you believe, all right! But anyone with a PHD in computer science will tell you that at its heart, MIDI is very similar in function to, yes, a networking protocol. The same concepts apply: TCP/IP translates to the MIDI 'channel' concept, allowing one to address a particular machine. The various protocols such as sockets, email, http are similar in concept to MIDI's 'status' bytes that differentiate between note, aftertouch, pitchbend messages. XML with its provision for customizing document objects for specific purposes, well that is like the MIDI provision for 'system exclusive' which is interpeted in a custom machine-specific manner. And on and on. What I have concluded is that .NET is a big front for Microsoft's entry into the 'Home of the Future' by way of the inter-product messaging protocol MIDI! Sounds unbelievable? Well Microsoft has just released details of the programming language which is meant to tie together .NET applications written in different languages (and this sounds shockingly like the abstraction behind MIDI itself). I think Microsoft has blown its own cover by revealing the name of this language (yes even the behemoth can be startlingly transparent in its motives).
AND THE NAME IS... C# http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?PP=/library/toc/csspec/csspe c0.xml&tocPath=csspec0&URL=/library/dotnet/csspec/vclrfcsharpspec_Start.htm Want further proof? What is the name of the .NET object access protocol for cryin' out loud? SOAP http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?URL=/code/sample.asp?url=/ MSDN-FILES/027/000/242/msdncompositedoc.xml
I think you can plainly see where this is heading. By coopting and merging of the terminology of music and detergents, Microsoft has proven its intent is to not only own the desktops of America, but its countertops as well! Join me in resisting the onslaught of this corporate giant. It is obvious that Microsoft cares nothing about music or domestic engineering, and this is merely a knee-jerk reaction to the current state of the tech market.

Once they own the countertop, won't MS once again just start changing its APIs and what's next? Will they use their monopolistic might to force Home Depot to start selling yard tools with a built-in Palm PC running Excel so you have to learn spreadsheet programming just to get too far, that's why I'm blowing the whistle big-time. Wired and Concerned

Wired and Concerned,
Mort Subontnick

Hey Mister, I think that you should run more of the type of articles I like and less of the ones I don't. OK?

Willy Kane- Phoenix, AZ

Editor's reply: You bet Willyl! We're on it dude!