Microsoft Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean (GEM) has unveiled a new platform called Microsoft.NET, which is said to be Microsoft's vision and road map for its next generation of software and services.
''Microsoft.NET will provide easier, more personalised and productive Internet experiences by harnessing constellations of smart devices and Web sites with advanced software through Internet protocols and formats,'' says Bahram Mohazzebi, general manager of Microsoft GEM. "It will provide a unified platform to bring together Internet, software and services in a powerful way that puts people, not computers, in control of their technology experiences.''
This new family of .NET products and technologies replaces the previous working title of next generation windows services (NGWS) and includes software for developers to build next-generation Internet experiences as well as power a new breed of smart Internet devices.
Microsoft has also announced plans for new products built on the .NET platform, including new generations of the Microsoft Windows operating system, Windows DNA servers, Microsoft Office the MSN network of Internet services and the Visual Studio development system.
Through a series of customer scenarios and technology demonstrations, Microsoft executives have showcased new software technologies and underscored four key principles guiding the new .NET platform:
Improved user experience puts people in control: .NET will give users a more productive and purposeful experience through greater user control over personal information and preferences, new user interface technologies, a new breed of smart Internet devices, and the ability to harness multiple devices and services toward a common goal. As the Internet becomes more personal, consumers will want software that enables them to define and control privacy.Microsoft is building innovative privacy technology into the foundation of Microsoft's next-generation software, including Microsoft Passport, providing customers with control of their Internet experience. Microsoft will host a personal information agent that will deliver consumers the ability to access, view, edit and delete the personal information that they enter at various sites. Additionally, Microsoft is incorporating privacy-enabling technologies based on the P3P specification into Microsoft's next-generation operating systems.
Ease of use/simplicity: .NET facilitates the continuous delivery of software to customers via a distributed computing model for the Internet that uniquely exploits the abundance of both computing and communications. Internet standards: .NET is based on Internet protocols and standards for interactions between devices and services, and in particular relies on the Extensible Markup Language (XML). Business integration and opportunity: .NET creates opportunities for millions of developers not only to build Internet services and businesses more easily, but also to integrate those offerings directly with business partners and customers. .NET consists of :
.NET User Experience: A new set of technologies for building next-generation user experiences, including the new Universal Canvas XML-based compound information architecture, natural user interface, integral digital media support, privacy-enabling technologies for management and control of personal information, and the new Dynamic Delivery system for secure and seamless installation, updates, roaming and offline operation. .NET Infrastructure and Tools: An implementation of the new XML-based programming model helps developers build, deliver, integrate, operate and federate web services. Visual Studio 7.0, a new version of the world's most popular developer toolset, will provide comprehensive, high-productivity support for XML-based Web service development, including the 50 per cent of the world's developers who use the Visual Basic development system. The new BizTalk Orchestration tool dramatically simplifies business process integration over the Internet. The .NET infrastructure and tools build off the XML-enabled family of Windows DNA 2000 servers. .NET Building Block Services: A new family of highly distributed, programmable developer services that run across standalone machines, in corporate data centers and across the Internet. Services include identity, notification and messaging, personalisation, schematised storage, calendar, directory, search and software delivery. Those services bring together elements of Windows technology with Internet-based Microsoft services such as Passport, the MSN Hotmail, MSN Messenger and MSN Communities to deliver a distributed set of building blocks for developers to use in their own products whether they are programming for a single machine or across the Internet. Different instances of these services can cooperate and exchange information through a process called federation, which allows organisations to decide whether to run their own infrastructure or host it externally without compromising their control or access to services across the Internet or when offline. .NET Device Software: An array of software to power a new breed of smart Internet-connected devices that can take maximum advantage of the .NET platform and fully participate in next-generation user experiences. Microsoft will deliver new versions of Windows supporting the .NET platform technologies that maintain and extend the PC's role as an optimum way to take full advantage of the Internet. This software will XML-enable any device, support intelligent Interaction with the network and .NET services and serve as a foundation to bring .NET User Experience technologies to non-PC devices such as Pocket PCs, set-top boxes, cellular phones and game consoles. The .NET platform breaks new ground in terms of using Internet standards such as XML to link systems together; its commitment to improving both the user and the developer experience; the introduction of the first highly distributed services architecture for the Internet; and applications transparency across local machines, corporate data centers and Internet services through the process of federation.
