More on the Atlas BOF

MSFN (Microsoft Software Forum Network) has picked up the Atlas BOF story run by InfoWorld. In the BOF, we discussed the brilliance of the Atlas UpdatePanel as well as some of the challenges Microsoft faces in getting it to work in every conceivable scenario. InfoWorld highlighted the problems but balanced things out by mentioning that Microsoft has a lot of smart people working on the problem. The MSFN story, however, goes a step further in accentuating the negative by saying UpdatePanel is “beset with reliability issues, according to moderator Jeff Prosise.”

Sheesh! Sometimes it doesn’t pay to get out of bed. I didn’t characterize UpdatePanel that way, nor did anyone else in the BOF. UpdatePanel is a remarkable piece of code, and the fact that it works as well as it does in an early alpha is pretty amazing, IMHO. It’s frustrating to see your words spun and distorted this way.

If this is the power of the press, I’d just as soon do without. It reminds me of that game where you sit in a circle and whisper something in someone’s ear and then see what that something has turned into when it comes full circle. The story of the BOF seems to get more negative with each retelling.