Running a 21st century information appliance with 20th century software is not unlike powering an airliner with steam engines.

That's Microsoft Corp.'s stated rationale, anyway, for pushing ahead with .Net, its vision for computing. Introduced with great fanfare a little more than a year ago, .Net promises to use the Internet to seamlessly interconnect devices, data and applications. Based on XML, .Net is designed to allow users to access applications and data wherever they may be on whatever device is most convenient.

But is .Net good news for the software giant's customers? As details of Microsoft's .Net strategy emerge, observers are raising questions about the risks that ac-company such a radical shift in software direction. Additionally, many Microsoft customers may soon find themselves being hauled onto the Internet against their will. "Current Microsoft customers won't be able to buy software that isn't .Net in certain applications," says Craig Roth, a senior program director at the Meta Group Inc., a technology research company in Stamford, Conn. "The old way simply won't be an option. We will see .Net become the standard."

THE TECHNOLOGY

The Microsoft .Net structure consists of several different components. The technology's primary development tools are the .Net Framework, a set of programming interfaces, and Visual Studio.Net, a multilanguage suite of programming tools. Another essential element is the .Net Building Block Services, which handle message delivery, file storage, user preferences and other activities, making it easy for users to move among applications, services and even environments.

The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) -- which uses XML syntax to send text commands across the Internet -- will allow .Net to automatically leverage the Internet's powerful communication capabilities to move information between devices and applications. "Applications and devices will be able to contact each other and exchange data without the user's awareness or active participation," says Jean-Christophe Cimetiere, CEO and lead analyst of TechMetrix, a Waltham, Mass.-based research company. The .Net applications will be able to run on any OS that supports the .Net run-time platform, including Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows CE and Windows 2000, as well as the upcoming Windows XP. It's even possible that versions of the run-time platform could be built for operating systems other than Windows, claims Microsoft. Still, while the company has hinted at cross-platform portability, the reality is that on the server side the first version of .Net will be primarily dependent on Windows 2000.

Unlike Windows, .Net won't ship as a standalone product on a specific date. Instead, the company will gradually incorporate the technology into a variety of new and existing products. Microsoft, for example, is planning to offer its Office productivity programs in subscription-based form. The company is also making all of its new software applets, including its free Hotmail e-mail product and MSN Messenger instant-messaging product, available as .Net services. "Over the next few years, we'll see a wide range of applications, particularly ERP and CRM products, take advantage of this technology," says Roth.

Microsoft is also hoping to lure an array

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