Microsoft’s new Hailstorm initiative is Mac compatible. However, the company’s Mac Business Unit (MacBU) doesn’t’ have anything new to announce on the .NET initiative as of yet, according to spokesperson Karen Sung.
Hailstorm is the codename of a set of enabling services intended to advance the Microsoft .NET strategy. The Big M claims it will enable developers to build user-centric XML Web services that offer a new level of personalization for both consumers and business users. Microsoft showcased five major partners, including American Express, ClickCommerce, eBay, Expedia and Groove, who showed prototypes and conceptual demos during the Hailstorm announcement last week.
“HailStorm is a key milestone to deliver on the Microsoft mission to empower people through great software, any time, any place and on any device,” said Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect. “We believe this innovation will take individual empowerment to a new level, create unprecedented opportunity for the industry and trigger a renewed wave of excitement.”
The .NET strategy is Microsoft’s gradual shift to distributing computing in which applications will (according to the theory) be delivered over the Internet, perhaps on a subscription basis. All HailStorm services are XML Web services, which are based on open industry standards. No Microsoft runtime or tool will be required to use them.
“HailStorm provides a huge opportunity for the entire software community,” said Sung. “Any application, device or service connected to the Internet can interact with HailStorm, regardless of the underlying operating system, programming language or online service.”
Last week Microsoft demonstrated various platforms accessing HailStorm services, including the Mac, Windows, PocketPC, Palm, and various flavors of UNIX (including Linux).