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Why I Support NPR

NPR closed "All Things Considered" with a story on Fox's upcoming Tonya Harding-Amy Fisher boxing match. Then show ended, and local NPR-guy Norm Howard came on to announce traffic and weather. "And that's why we ask for your contributions," he said in his dry baritone.

I'm not sure if he meant, "because we provide you with hardhitting high-quality stories like that one," or "because otherwise, our staff will have to scrabble for a living any way they can, hint, hint." Either way, it was pretty darn funny.

OK, so you want even funnier than those pranksters at NPR? Well, how about C|NET? Today they had a guest article on web services. The author was Frank Moss, who came out swinging at Microsoft, IBM, Sun, and BEA (how sad that everyone's forgotten about HP). After jeering at the big vendors, Moss says (warning: marketroid language ahead, may not be appropriate for sensible readers):

Okay, that's the pain--now for the pain reliever.

What I see emerging is a new layer of vendor-neutral software that sits on top of the Web services platforms from all the major players--the "Web services automation" layer. [Emphasis mine]

Hmmmm, I thought. What the heck is "web services automation"? This would require further research.

Fortunately, I didn't have to go too far. Moss is CEO of Bowstreet, a software company that "unleashes the power of web services". Here's an excerpt from a helpful page titled, "Our solutions":

What is the Bowstreet Business Web Factory?
The next-generation web services automation system, which works across heterogeneous web services platforms and provides the capability for modeling, assembly, dynamic change management and mass customization... [Emphasis mine]

Well, OK, I still have no idea what a "web services automation" system is. But surprise, surprise -- Moss is selling one!

Yes, yes, I know. C|NET and all the rest of the industry rags aren't even close to legitimate journalism. They are merely conduits of FUD and advertisement. But sheesh, they could try a little harder. Keep up a pretense, you know?

Posted by Evan Goer on Feb. 28, 2002 at 10:37 PM