APPENDIX: The Windows Environment
Microsoft .NET Unveiled
Microsoft has unveiled what it calls the "Platform for the Next Generation Internet." The new platform, called Microsoft .NET, is built on open Internet protocols and standards and has tools and services that meld computing and communications in new ways. Microsoft is encouraging developers to create a new generation of Internet software and services that give consumers and businesses the Web the way they want it-any time, any place, and on any device. Their goal is to make Internet-based computing and communications easier to use, more easily personalized, and more productive for businesses and consumers. This is a major shift of emphasis for Microsoft, presumably to create products that will be as successful in the Internet arena as they have been in the PC environment. The company's new business software in the Microsoft .NET world is to be called Office.Net.
Internet Advertising The banner ads found virtually everywhere on the Internet may not be as effective as initially thought. The rates at which people click-through to the advertised site have decreased 50 percent in less than a year to under a half a percent. Industry analysts say there is an oversupply of Internet ad space, with up to 80 percent being unused. That would be like looking at a newspaper filled mostly with white space. To fill the "white space," sites that offer Internet ads are using house ads; that is, the space is filled with ads for themselves. Some major sites and portals could have up to three-fourths of the banner ad space filled with house ads. How often do you click through on a banner ad?