Here's an obvious headline for Booch: Language Once Was Key - Now It's Design. Heh, almost as much of a shock to see the UML guy pushing design to the front as it is to see me pushing Smalltalk to the front :)

Here's the link to the story. The basic claim is that .NET and web services obliterates the importance of any particular language - since all can play equally - and elevates design. Go have a look and see what you think.