Redmond Takes The Wraps Off NGWS - Company Business and Marketing

Computer Technology Review, July, 2000 by Joshua Piven

Signaling both a new direction for the company and new heights for vaporware, Microsoft Corp. in June unveiled details of its long-awaited Next Generation Windows Services platform. The group of technologies falls under the name Microsoft .NET (pronounced dot net) and includes XML-based development tools for various PC and non-PC environments; a new group of distributed programmable developer services; and device drivers and software aimed at powering smart, Internet-enabled devices.

Microsoft president Steve Ballmer said that "the Internet revolution must now move to its next stage: ensuring that the ocean of information and resources that is out there actually work together. By creating a unified platform through which devices and services cooperate with each other, Microsoft will unleash a new wave of developer opportunity and creativity that will move us to a level of power and simplicity."

According to the company, Microsoft will offer a new set of tools that fall under the .NET User Experience tent: Universal Canvas (an XML-based compound information architecture), a natural user interface, digital media support, privacy-enabling technologies, and a new dynamic delivery system for installation, updates, roaming and offline operation. Infrastructure tools include Visual Studio 7 and the vaporware-ish BizTalk Orchestration tool, which will simplify business process integration over the Internet. The new .NET distributed services include Identity, Notification and Messaging, Personalization, Schematized Storage, Calendar, Directory, Search and Software Delivery. These services combine and expand upon elements of Windows technology as well as Passport, Hotmail, Messenger and MSN Communities.

While the assembled press was happy to finally hear a few details of NGWS, a palpable cloud of uncertainty hung over the event. Many observers noted that the unbreakable integration of Windows technology with other application services is precisely the behavior that led to the company s current legal troubles. Further, if the company is split into OS and application pieces, Microsoft will face serious, potentially crippling problems in implementing the .NET strategy, which by definition smashes OS and productivity app boundaries.