Computerworld - REDMOND, WASH. -- Microsoft Corp. bet its future last week on .Net, its vision of software services that live on the Internet. But initial reactions were skeptical, with users and analysts noting that the core technologies are unproven and that many key components are years from delivery.
Microsoft.Net - previously referred to as Next Generation Windows Services - is a layer of software on the server and the client. It provides an environment for all kinds of client devices to access services that live on the Web or on enterprise servers. Microsoft said .Net will work on Windows and other operating systems, though it didn't specify which ones or when they would be supported.
On the server side, the upcoming Visual Studio 7 will provide tools to make applications available as services using XML and Simple Object Access Protocol. Microsoft will also offer some of these services itself.
On the client, .Net provides a sparse browserlike interface without menu bars. A key concept in the interface is the "universal canvas," which eliminates the borders between applications. For instance, spreadsheet and word processing features are available inside e-mail documents. .Net will also support handwriting and speech recognition.
"This will affect every part of application code that gets written. It affects the user interface," said Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates. "There's no part of Microsoft that won't get touched."
Analysts were upbeat. "I haven't seen any (competing vision) that is as all-encompassing," said Roger Kay, an analyst at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass.
Steve Kleynhans, an analyst at Meta Group Inc. in Caledon, Ontario, echoed that opinion. But, he said, "getting there from here is going to be very difficult."
Not There Yet
Although Version 1.0 of the .Net client for Windows, dubbed Windows.Net, will ship next year, the server side as well as the "complete" .Net user experience won't be ready until 2002 or after, executives said. Kleynhans said it may in fact take until 2004 to deliver on .Net.
That's a long wait in Internet time, said Mohammad Rashid, chief technology officer at Goinvest.com Inc. in Santa Monica, Calif. "We are building applications today, so we have to go with a mature standard," said Rashid, who is building an online trading system on Enterprise Java Beans. If .Net does become prevalent, "it should be able to talk to other object technologies. That's the promise of XML," said Rashid.
Others voiced doubts about the development model.
"I don't think there is enough knowledge around XML and what
Free Insider GuideCopyright © 1994 - 2012 Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited. Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
