Just in case you’re ready for a reminder of how far we’ve come and how fast, check out this gallery of 70’s relics on ZDNet:
Dinosaur Sightings
If you haven’t already checked the link referenced on the CodeGear web site, Software Development Time’s Alan Ziechick has written an article that’ll be if interest to any Delphi developer titled “Tooling up with “CodeGear“.
Jan 8, 2007: Excellent Delphi career opportunities available. If interested, please contact Rick Ross ASAP with your details of your background and qualifications!
Wondering what’s happening at CodeGear? The new company’s CEO is impressive and seems poised to make things happen.
Click here to read a summary of or listen to an interview with CodeGear’s CEO, Ben Smith. The link also includes an “About Ben Smith” section. This should be of keen interest to every Delphi developer.
We all remember that in February 2006 Borland announced plans to seek a buyer for it’s IDE tools including Delphi. The Delphi community response to the news was overwhelmingly positive, but many were still left with concerns.
Today the suspense is over! The “divestiture” is complete - well sort of. Delphi is now owned by a new company, CodeGear, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Borland!
We’ll know much more in the coming months, but the news certainly couldn’t be any better. CodeGear will be free to pursue success in the tools market, while Borland will still have a vested interest in that success. The arrangement already seems to have given the CodeGear staff a big boost of enthusiasm.
You can read the official press release here. And of course, you’ll also want to visit the new CodeGear site www.codegear.com. As of this writing, the site looks like that of a day old company, but we can rest assured that there’s more to come. Stay tuned!
Thanks to Nick Hodges for digging up this video.
If you haven’t already been there, the TurboTools site is up and running. Visit it here.
Neil Rubenking (Delphi for Dummies) wrote a good article in PC Magazine online called: “New Borland Line Salutes Turbo Pascal Spirit“. It’s definitely worth reading. Also, the official web site for Turbo Tools should be up anytime now: Visit it here.
As we wait for Borland to finalize the sale of its IDE products, you might expect the IDE group to be in a holding pattern. In fact, nothing could be further form the truth. We’ve recently seen them hiring (including the rehiring of a few stars that had left) and now we’re seeing the unexpected release of new tools! Read all about it here.
Over the years, I’ve been involved in numerous discussions comparing IDEs. Facts in hand, it’s always easy to make a strong evidence-based case for Delphi being the most productive tool available. In the latest installment from David I. he presents more facts that you can use to bolster your own case for Delphi. Click here to read it.
In a July 24 article on ZDNET, author Garett Rogers remarks “One thing Google really needs now is a community of developers”. I’ve often thought the same thing and with a great set of developer tools up for sale, who knows?
In context his comments refer to the open source community, but I believe apply equally well to non-open source tools. It shouldn’t be long before we know.
You can read the complete article here.
Like kids in the back seat on vacation, with high expectations we’re all wondering when we’re going to get there and what it’ll be like. Of course, I’m referring to that “place” where we know the new owner of Delphi.
In the July 24 eWeek article, “Borland Close To Naming a Buyer for Its IDE Unit“, Borland’s CEO Tod Nielsen provides us with several interesting quotes:
“There is no deal done”
“We expect to have a deal done in the next few weeks, and then we’ll
announce shortly after we get it taken care of. And we expect it to be
completed by Sept. 30.”"
“I think people are going to look back and say this is a real win-win-win situation”
So far, so good. Just be patient, we’ll be there soon!
I’ve found that many Delphi developers miss the updates from David I. Some of the updates get caught in SPAM filters while others end up in the hands of a company representative with whom all software is registered.
In any case, for those who missed the latest from David I. here it is:
Update on the Developer Tools Group Divestiture
Borland announced on February 8, 2006 the intention to divest its Integrated Developer Environment (IDE) and Database product lines. Nigel Brown, previously vice president of Borland EMEA, has been appointed general manager of Borland’s internally formed Developer Tools Group. This group now consists of approximately 180 Borland employees, with sales, marketing and product teams working independently within the Company. The divesture process is proceeding according to schedule and attracting a strong number of qualified bidders.
Borland is working to have a buyer identified within the next several months. Stay tuned to BDN for further updates and announcements.
The “DevCo” staff has been doing a great job of keeping us informed of product direction with “Roadmaps”. John Kaster just released the latest and there’s plenty of “must read” information on Delphi. Click here to read it.
By now you’ve heard that Borland announced a divestiture of its software development tools, including Delphi, back on February 8. Borland is seeking a buyer that will give its tools portfolio the attention it warrants. For several reasons, this news was almost universally met with excitement – especially from the Delphi development community.
Even prior to the announcement, Delphi’s future was looking bright. Last year when I delivered Delphi Road Show presentations in four cities, I saw more excitement than I’ve seen since the days when Delphi was first released over a decade ago. Many audience members, who hadn’t upgraded in years, had already purchased the new Delphi or were planning on it.
This isn’t surprising given the strength of the most recent release – Delphi 2006. It’s the only IDE that allows developers to build .NET, ASP .NET and Win32 apps from the same IDE, while providing easy access to almost any database.
But despite all the positives, until the exact divestiture plans are released, those on the outside still wonder how things will turn out, while those on the inside have to be tight lipped. Fortunately, I got an idea of what’s to come when Borland’s Anders Ohlsson recently visited Columbus.
While he didn’t reveal any specifics or hints about what’s coming, his attitude and demeanor spoke volumes. Seeing is believing. He’s very excited about whatever it is that’s happening. Delphi’s future is looking even brighter by the day. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 231, 2006 - 9:30am to 1:00pm Renassiance Hotel 50 N. 3rd Street Columbus, OH 43215
Borland Presenter - Anders Ohlsson
The road show is designed to update you on the advanced new features of Delphi 2006. The Road Show is a unique opportunity to put yourself ‘in the know’ and: a) Learn about great new technologies that will make a big difference to you and your users/customers,
B) Discover exactly how Borland’s continuing investment in IDEs is building an even brighter future for the developer community, C) Meet and talk with the people shaping the future of the technologies that you know and love.
What Will Be Covered: 1) Borland/Delphi and the “DevCo” spin-off update, 2) IDE overview and Developer productivity, 3) Moving Delphi Client/Server applications to multi-tier, 4) Build and run model Driven Software
Registration/sign-in starts at 9am. The presentation starts at 9:30am and lasts for approximately three hours.
For more information and to register, use the following URL:
http://208.109.7.163/html/borland_inside/landing.htm
Just announced, “Delphi 2006, The Inside Track” is coming to Columbus on May 31. The event will start at 9:30 AM at the Renassiance Hotel.
Key Features Include:
* Enterprise Core Objects III (ECO™ III) Framework - includes valuable enterprise application services, such as object-relational-mapping and transparent object persistence, saving the time and complexity of building and maintaining custom services
* Enhanced Visual Component Library (VCL) - provides easy graphical user interface (GUI) development with a large selection of GUI components, with auto-positioning and customisable guidelines
* Extended IDE / ALM Integration - allows you to take control of the development lifecycle process by leveraging integration with leading Borland ALM products “Live Templates” system - enables you to tab through fields and insert points of any template, significantly accelerating coding productivity
* “Live Templates” System - enables you to tab through fields and insert points of any template, significantly accelerating coding productivity
An interesting note from Alan Bauer’s blog:
“DevCo folks are isolated and running separately at this point. This is a from a product/marketing/sales perspective. Due to SOX rules, the financial aspects must remain intertwined until the divestiture is complete.
It is also my understanding that the Seque portion was “right-sized” prior to the close of the deal.
For the record as well, DevCo is hiring and has many openings available today, and will have many more when the separation completes.”
Also, on May 3, David I had this to say:
“Borland is working to have a buyer identified within the next several months.”
Today Borland announced the layoff of 300 employees, or about 20% of its workforce. Most of those laid off were part of the companies international operations, a move designed to bring about geographic consolidation. Groups of developers were NOT part of the layoffs.
Of course, the development tools staff will soon be receiving paychecks from another employer anyway as part of the planned divestiture. In this ComputerWorld article about the layoffs, Borland officials are quoted as saying that “strong number of qualified bidders” are interested in purchasing the tools business.
All the latest considered, the future of Delphi still looks better than ever. Stay tuned!
Here’s a quick “must read” for all software developers; just as a reminder!: After following the link I’ll provide below, be sure to click the “Top 10 Best Jobs” link at the top to get more details about our favorite profession. Click here to read the article.