2012 was a year of indecision and turmoil for IT folks who use Microsoft technologies.

There were new versions of Windows, Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Office, and on and on and on…

Microsoft switched into Apple mode and refused to offer guidance to developers or IT pros in any but the vaguest of terms. Is Silverlight dead? Is it wounded? Have you knowingly led me over a cliff?

In my post Developer Spin Cycle back in September, I talked about my personal cross-roads and trying to figure out which way to go.

I was burned by Windows Phone 7 and unlikely to shell out money to be in an app catalog again. I decided to focus on web technologies since HTML, CSS and JavaScript are not beholden to any one company.

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If you can attend one of the Velocity Conferences from O'Reilly, you'll find a wealth of information on speeding up your websites. Top speakers gather to share best practices and lessons learned from running some of the highest traffic sites on the web.

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