“A couple of weeks ago, Microsoft announced a new direction it’s
calling Microsoft.NET. The plan would make its software available
for use online. The strategy would also bridge the gap between
small handheld devices, such as cell phones, pagers, palm-size
organizers and PCs so that a user’s data could be entered in one
place and accessed in another.”
“Although this might be a major strategy change for
Microsoft, the concepts are hardly new. The idea of shifting
computing tasks from the PC to the Internet has been around for
years and numerous rival companies are already implementing pieces
of this strategy. There is a growing number of “application
service providers,” or ASPs, that let you use the Internet to
perform tasks that might otherwise have been performed on a
personal computer.”
“NetLedger, for example, offers a complete small accounting and
business management system that you subscribe to rather than
purchase on a CD-ROM. … Another company, ThinkFree.com, offers
Internet-savvy software that treads directly on Microsoft’s core
applications. …MagicalDesk.com… not only give you Web-based
e-mail but also let[s] you maintain your calendar and address book
and share files with colleagues. … Visto.com offers a similar
series of services as well as a virtual photo album in which you
can store, organize and share images. … FusionOne has an even
more ambitious plan to allow users not just to access Web data on
cell phones, but also to synchronize it between the Internet, cell
phones and all sorts of other devices.”