Hi,

Net is all about making windows an enterprise level OS. To do this net must provide four things:

Net applications

Applications distributed throught the internet

Intergration with other OS like Sun, Linux, etc.

Security and reliability

There must be a shift from traditional network protocals such as TCP/IP, netbios, IPX to the new SOAP protocal. There must be versions of SOAP to run on other O/S like Sun, Linux, etc.

SOAP is designed to operate over existing Internet protocals - HTTP, SMTP, and more. intially it is trageted for use over HTTP, so it can flow over the internet without requiring dramitic changes in existing firewalls, etc.

There must be a way for applications to find each other to exchange data, so Net would require a shift away from the traditional registry as it is used in Client/Server, RPC, ODBC, COM, and DCOM.

Microsoft Net is designed to use Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) directory specification. UDDI provides a structure for programs to discover what other programs are available and what services they offer.

Microsoft purchased a UNIX company and is in the process of developing a UNIX version of Net. This must be done if it want to be an enterprise OS because big enterprises use many different OS. Currently, I think net is limited to Window OS system only.

You can say many things about the internet, but secure and reliable is not one of them. There must be some way for applications to authenticate. It looks like some kind of application certification by a third party might be used. For the client, it looks like Microsoft passport authentication through a browser may work. This would require everyone to have an online idenity controlled by Microsoft.

Also, what does net mean to the Microsoft product family? Will we see a Microsoft Net Office? A Microsoft Net SQL Server? Or Maybe even a Microsoft Visual FoxPro.

The above is what I got out of an artical by Sean Chandler "The .Net Effect Of Web Services". It is in the Windows & .Net Magazine dated January 2002. It appears to me that Net is a huge undertaking and will require a lot more before it can be considered ready for prime time. Of course it could take a while to develope an application under net, so if your willing to take a chance then now is probably the time to get started. I wish Microsoft were more forthcoming about it time table for .Net and exactly what we can expect in the next three to five years.