EDITORAL: A Quick Look at .NET

EDITORAL: Microsoft President Steve Ballmer spoke to reporters after his speech yesterday at Comdex Canada. He stressed a number of issues, most notably that Microsoft’s new .NET strategy was not a ploy to control the internet as they do the PC market. “I don't think anybody can dominate the Internet, I might also argue that nobody really dominates the PC market, but I don't want to get back into that view of history,” Ballmer said in remarks after his speech.



As for me I’m still confused as to what “.NET” exactly is. On the surface it seems more of a hassle to me, personally I would rather just have either more free software, but that’s not the issue, so let’s look at what Bill (Gates of course) has weighed in on the subject.



In remarks to developers today at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2000, Bill Gates said:

"The transition to .NET is as dramatic a transition as the move from MS-DOS® to Windows, developers are crucial to this effort because they will build the solutions that usher in a new era of truly distributed computing on the Internet."



“Era of truly distributed computing on the internet” what, huh?



Okay before we tackle that, let’s look at an ‘about’ on “.NET” straight from Microsoft:



The Microsoft .NET Platform, announced June 22 at Forum 2000, is Microsoft's initiative for creating the next generation of software, which melds computing and communications in a revolutionary way. This vision offers developers, businesses and consumers the ability to harness technology on their terms and the tools they need to create truly distributed Web Services making information available any time, any place and on any device.

Humm, okay that didn’t really help. Basically I’m guessing that .NET is Microsoft’s way of making Windows, and consequently all other Microsoft software literally part of the internet instead of mere clients (this would make the “distributed computing” comment make a little more sense). This would allow Microsoft to streamline more content, upgrades and new software to users more quickly and efficiently.



Only one problem, bandwidth. I know Microsoft has been sinking millions of dollars into cable and broadband companies, but I live in Northern Virginia (that would be right next to Washington, DC for those of you that don’t know) the “Silicon Valley” of the East Coast and I still can’t get a cable connection or any type of DSL to my home. Now, I can’t get it but my friend 2 miles away can (okay I’m not going to start with that). The point remains, where’s the infrastructure?



Also it seems Microsoft is not interested in supporting Java anymore Microsoft plans not to include the Java programming language in its new .Net agenda. This was made obvious with plans to release its new Visual Studio.Net. Microsoft’s .Net then would support nearly every major programming language except Java. Microsoft cites Sun’s lawsuit as reasoning, but that it would “make available everything necessary for any software developer to create a version of Java for .Net.



What do you guys think about all this .NET stuff? Is it the future, or just a fad? Is it a ploy by Microsoft to try to control the internet as much as it can? Is Microsoft trying to bury Java?