Microsoft .NET

009 - Whither .NET My Services? <p><script> function OpenWin(url, w, h) { if(!w) w = 400; if(!h) h = 300; window. open (url, "_new", "width=" + w + ",height=" + h + ",menubar=no,toobar=no,scrollbars=yes", true); } function Print() { window.focus(); if(window.print) { window.print(); window.setTimeout('window.close();',5000); } } </script><span></span></p> <table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr valign="top"></tr></table> <table width="100%" height="20" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1"><tr></tr></table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td align="center"><table width="95%"><tr><td align="left"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tr><td valign="top" height="5"><img src="/books/2/575/1/html/2/images/pixel.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0"></td></tr> <tr> <td><b><font size="1" color ="#0000FF">Team-Fly<img border="0" src="/books/2/575/1/html/2/Fly-Logo.gif" width="81" height="25"></font></b></td> <td valign="top" align="right">     </td> </tr> </table> <hr size ="1"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="76" rowspan="4"><img src="/books/2/575/1/html/2/images/013046130X/013046130X_xs.jpg" width="76" height="95" border="0"></td> <td valign="top">.NET and COM Interoperability Handbook, The<br>By Alan Gordon<br> </td> </tr> <tr><td>Table of Contents</td></tr> <tr><td></td></tr> <tr><td valign="bottom"> Chapter One.  What's in a Name ?</td></tr> </table> <hr size="1"> <br><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding ="0"><tr><td valign="top"> <h3 id="162593-962"> Microsoft .NET</h3> <p>Microsoft .NET is Microsoft's name for a technology initiative that is designed to make it simple to create and use a new class of Internet-enabled applications called XML Web services. XML Web services will transform the Internet from what it is nowisolated islands of information that present Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) pictures of data upon request--into a programmable platform, where information from XML Web services may be combined in value-adding ways before it arrives at a client device that is as likely to be a smart phone or a wirelessly connected Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) as it is to be a desktop Personal Computer (PC). With Microsoft.NET, Microsoft hasfinallytruly embraced the Internet. Instead of "Windows Everywhere," Microsoft's new mission statement is to provide users with access to their information " anywhere , any time, and on any device." Figure 1-1 shows schematically the .NET vision of the Internet.</p> <center> <h5>Figure 1-1. The .NET vision.</h5> <p><img border="0" width="500" height="422" src="/books/2/575/1/html/2/images/013046130X/graphics/01fig01.jpg" alt="graphics/01fig01.jpg"></p> </center> <p>Before you start thinking that Microsoft.NET and XML Web services are just another thinly veiled attempt by Microsoft to take over the Internet, keep in mind that the technologies on which Microsoft.NET will be built, XML, HTTP, and SOAP, are all industry standards. In fact, some of Microsoft's fiercest competitors , including International Business Machines (IBM) and Sun Microsystems, are enthusiastically supporting XML Web services and SOAP even as they gear up to compete fiercely against all other aspects of Microsoft.NET. Therefore, although XML Web services are a key part of the Microsoft.NET strategy, the success of XML Web services as a concept is not tied to the success of Microsoft.NET. XML Web services will usher in the next generation of the Internet whether Microsoft.NET succeeds or fails.</p> <p>Microsoft also wants to provide the preferred operating system that you will run your XML Web services on. Windows XP will be the first operating system with some .NET features. One of the .NET features of Windows XP is that it allows you to expose any COM+ application as a Web service by clicking a checkbox. Windows .NET Server, which is the replacement for Windows 2000 Advanced Server, will be the first operating system that was developed specifically for running .NET applications. It will ship with the runtime for the .NET Framework preinstalled and it will include SOAP Monikers that will make is easy to use XML Web Services even from unmanaged applications.</p> <p>Microsoft will also be providing an entire family of .NET-enabled server applications that will make it easy to develop high-performance, scalable, secure, and highly available XML Web services. These servers are called the .NET Enterprise servers. They include SQL Server 2000, Exchange Server 2000, BizTalk Server 2002, Commerce Server 2002, Application Center 2000, Host Integration Server 2000, Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000, and Microsoft Mobile Information Manager 2002. If these servers sound suspiciously like the server applications that were until recently part of the Windows DNA, you know that Microsoft is playing its usual maddening games with their technology names . Microsoft will also start building all of its applications, like Microsoft Office, to take advantage of .NET. It will create .NET-enabled device software that can be used to run devices ranging from cell phones to PDAs to gaming consoles. Microsoft may even create Internet-enabled kitchen appliances like refrigerators that can access recipes or even send an email to you when they need to be serviced.</p> <p>In all, .NET has five main areas:</p> <span style="font-weight:bold"><ol type="1"> <li><span style="font-weight:normal"><p>Developer tools (primarily the .NET Framework and Visual Studio. NET)</p></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight:normal"><p>XML Web Services, this includes both the standards and infrastructure that you use to build your XML Web Services as well as "building block" XML Web Services like MapPoint.NET that you can leverage in your applications.</p></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight:normal"><p>The .NET Enterprise servers.</p></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight:normal"><p>Smart Client Software.</p></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight:normal"><p>Smart Devices.</p></span></li> </ol></span> <p></p> <table cellspacing="0" width="90%" border="1"><tr><td> <h2>Whither .NET My Services?</h2> <p>Early in the release cycle of version 1.0 of the .NET Framework, Microsoft heavily promoted .NET My Services. .NET My Services (which was formerly known as Hailstorm and has since been renamed .NET Services) is a set of consumer-oriented XML Web Services that provides, among other things: calendaring, event notifications, email, contact management, profiles and preferences, document storage and electronic "wallets" for online purchasing. Microsoft's plan is to offer these services both directly to consumers and to developers who could customize the services and integrate them with their own Web service offerings to provide added value. These services are to be available on the Web, served up by high-speed and high-availability servers. Because these services are implemented as XML Web services, they can be used from any client: a smart phone, PDA, Windows desktop, UNIX workstation, or whatever.</p> <p>Unfortunately, industry and consumer acceptance of .NET My Services has not been what Microsoft hoped it would be. Right now, two Services are available: .NET Alerts, which implements notifications (see the following URL to learn more: www.microsoft.com/netservices/alerts) and .NET Passport (see the following URL to learn more: www.microsoft.com/netservices/passport). Microsoft is no longer promoting .NET Services very heavily and it is clear that they are backing away (at least in the near term ) from their original vision of .NET My Services as one of the key components of .NET. The failure of .NET Passport to win wide acceptance has been particularly damaging to Microsoft's vision. .NET Passport is an authentication web service that allows users to identify themselves to service providers. It provides Single Sign In (SSI) capability allowing you to log in to any Passport-aware Web site or service with a single user name and password combination. Passport's market acceptance is key to realizing the rest of the vision because reliable authentication is required by all of the other services and the wallet capability also leverages .NET Passport. Acceptance of .NET Passport has been slow because many consumers and businesses are reluctant to entrust their sensitive information to a third-party. Despite Microsoft's assurance that the information will be stored in encrypted format, and that only the person who owns information can grant access to that information and despite their pledge not to "mine, sell, or rent" the information stored in these services, consumers are still wary of making their personal and financial information available on the Internet. Part of the problem is several recent high-profile virus and worm attacks, which have undermined confidence and trust in computer technology and the Internet in general, and Microsoft's technology in particular, because it is so often targeted . Another problem is the recent upsurge in identity theft and credit card fraud (I was a victim of both recently) that have made some people leery of eCommerce. Part of the problem is Microsoft itself. Whether it's fairly deserved or not, Microsoft has acquired a reputation for aggressive and predatory business practices. Many businesses and consumers these days are reluctant to "hitch their wagon" to products and services that would make them too dependent on Microsoft.</p> <p>Regardless of the reasons for the slow industry and consumer acceptance of .NET Services, Microsoft has recently begun to "back-pedal" from their original .NET My Services vision. .NET My Services is no longer touted on the .NET homepage (www.microsoft/net) as one of the key components of Microsoft .NET as it was when Microsoft .NET was first announced. The homepage only mentions MapPoint .NET as an example of a " core set of XML Web Services from authentication to calendaring" that Microsoft is developing with "others". Moreover, mention of .NET My Services has been conspicuous by its absence at recent developer conferences.</p> <p>Microsoft is promoting XML Web Services primarily as an application integration technology for heterogeneous environments and less as a mechanism for delivering consumer-oriented services over the Web. I don't believe that they have given up on their original vision, they just realize that it is going to take much longer than they originally thought to realize it. See the following URL to learn more about .NET Services (www.microsoft.com/netservices/).</p> </td></tr></table> <p>This book primarily covers the .NET Framework and Visual Studio. NET, however, in this chapter I will also give you an executive overview of the other areas of .NET like the .NET Enterprise Servers. You can find the latest general information about Microsoft.NET at the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL): www.microsoft.com/net/. You can find the latest developer-oriented information about the .NET Framework at msdn.microsoft.com/net.</p> <p>Let's get started by defining the key technologies in Microsoft.NET: XML Web services, XML, and SOAP.</p> </td></tr></table> <hr size="1"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tr><td valign="top" height="5"><img src="/books/2/575/1/html/2/images/pixel.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0"></td></tr> <tr> <td><b><font size="1" color="#0000FF">Team-Fly<img border="0" src="/books/2/575/1/html/2/Fly-Logo.gif" width="81" height="25"></font></b></td> <td valign="top" align="right">     </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td valign="top" align="right">Top</td></tr></table> </td></tr></table></td> <td align="center">  </td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3" align="center" valign="bottom"> <br><table width="100%"><tr><td height="25" valign="middle" colspan="4" align="center"> </td></tr></table> </td></tr> </table>


. Net and COM Interoperability Handbook
The .NET and COM Interoperability Handbook (Integrated .Net)
ISBN: 013046130X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 119
Authors: Alan Gordon

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