Conclusion

.NET creates a new concept, "the Internet Operating System", and through web services that leverage open standards like SOAP and the existing network structure and security, allows cross-platform development to an extent not before possible. .NET web services can be integrated into existing distributed object technologies today by replacing their RPC wire protocol with SOAP. Thus large-scale distributed application development and deployment become possible on a level that presents major difficulties today. Through its CLR programming languages even become more of a non-issue. Stricter versioning policies help to ensure greater stability during upgrades, even in shared libraries. And this in turn gives application developers greater freedom to create install-on-demand products that are cheaper and more cost-efficient. "Software as a service" - a subscription model for application deployment - becomes a feasible option, opening up new business models.

Microsoft has bet the farm on .NET. This is scary for both those who like and dislike them. For those who like it - we hope they aren't wrong. For those who dislike it - although Microsoft has never innovated much (in fact if you look at .NET you can find bits and pieces of it scattered everywhere, in X-Drive, Hotmail, Java, Installshield, Jini, and many other places), it is excellent at taking good ideas and improving on them (witness how Microsoft Word slowly crushed WordPerfect). A lot of the things .NET makes possible are appealing to businesses. In typical Micrsoft fashion, they may just have gotten wind of where trends were leading - and pulled together all these pieces to get there first.

In short, Microsoft will either fail, and for the first time ever slide from dominance in its first ever significant bad business decision - or else will succeed, and quite possibly...conquer the world.


Summary of and random musings on the aforementioned
I hope they succeed; it'd be good for my job :)
And besides...I've never seen anyone conquer the world before :) :) :)