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Maybe I just need to learn ways to make my applications look less generic. Whenever I hear about some new development platform I feel like maybe I'm pigeon-holing myself by sticking with Visual Studios. I want to be a valued contributor and no better way to do that than to create applications that WOW those above you.

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Sadly, you are already pigeon-holed because you are stuck with Windows and SQL. Stick with VS.NET for your platform. But also look into what JQuery can do for your front ends. There are many JavaScript frameworks that could also add a lot of value, but I recommend JQuery because Microsoft is using it in their new versions of SharePoint.

Bottom line: If you have to be stuck in Microsoft-land, work with them, not against them.

It's a large pigeon hole--ironruby on rails is certainly possible. But to stay more idiomatic to .NET, F# is fairly comparable to Ocaml. Concurrency-friendly functional programming will allow you to hang out with all the coolest kids and grow a long, greasy beard.

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