.NET is billed by MS as having many advantages.  From a marketing
point of view, what are they?  That is, if a potential customer wants
to know why an application written in .NET is better than a competing
application not written in .NET, what can we tell him?  I'm looking
for benefits, not features.

I hope someone has published an extensive white paper on the subject. 
You would think Microsoft would have one.  They have tons of
information, but I couldn't find a paper that would help a company
market a .NET based application.  I want to not have to wade through
tons of techno-speak in order to figure out what the benefits are.

Any information given in answer to the question should be
understandable by people who don't know computer technology.  That is,
by people who use an application and don't care what it's written in,
just care what it does for them.

Thanks!

Hello -

From my searching, it seems as though the chief "competition" to .NET
technology is the J2EE platform.  These article should hopefully
answer your question in the format and style you're looking for.  If
they don't, simply let me know before rating this answer, and I will
try to find you other resources.  Thanks for your understanding.

Reality Check .NET  
Two of our experts debate the pros and cons of migrating to VB.NET.
http://www.advisormedia.com/doc/09087

How do J2EE and .NET Measure up?
http://www.aspnews.com/trends/article/0,2350,9921_2200571,00.html

What .NET Means for IT Professionals
http://www.microsoft.com/net/business/it_pros.asp

J2EE vs .Net: Making that vital development decision
http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/software/developer/0,39020469,2111787,00.htm

J2EE vs. Microsoft.NET: A comparison of building web services
(requires sign-up)
http://www.theserverside.com/home/thread.jsp?thread_id=7056

Cat Fight in a Pet Store: J2EE vs. .NET  
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2001/11/28/catfight.html

Will Microsoft .NET surpass Java in the marketplace?
http://www.manning.com/dotnetbooks/java_vs_dotnet/java-vs-dotnet.html

Next Generation Business Integration--The Advantages of Microsoft .NET
http://members.microsoft.com/partner/includes/sitemetrics/downloads.aspx?Docid=002582&Docname=NET_BusinessIntegration.doc


Additional Link:
Lots of .NET articles
http://itmanagement.webopedia.com/TERM/D/dot_NET.html

Moving Java Applications to .NET
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dndotnet/html/dotnet_MovingJavaApps.asp

Search Strategy:
"microsoft .net vs." "white paper"
"vs. microsoft.net"
"microsoft .net benefits" "white paper"
"advantages of Microsoft .net"
"microsoft .net" layman's advantages

---

Request for Answer Clarification by wardtalktothebeaver-ga on 10 Sep 2003 10:30 PDT

Thank you, JBF777,

These articles were very informative.  However, they follow the same
pattern as other articles I have read.  That is, they are written for
techies.  Lots of our potential customers don't know much about the
Internet or connectivity.  Terms like SOAP and J2EE just don't
register.  If we have a product written to use .NET, we need to be
able to describe the benefits they personally will receive from using
the product.  Why should they buy a .NET product rather than something
else?  Will it be faster, more affordable, more reliable, more secure?
 Will it take advantage of new technologies?  Is it simply that .NET
is the future and any application they buy that is not .NET is doomed?

It's not so much comparing .NET to J2EE.  It's comparing .NET to a
typical windows application, one written in VB6 or PowerBuilder or C.

Our main problem now is that we ourselves don't know what all the
benefits are, even as we write the application.  We'd like to see one
or more articles written a la ".NET for Dummies" (if there is such a
thing).

thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 10 Sep 2003 17:38 PDT

Hi wardtalktothebeaver,

Thanks for your clarification request.

I've discovered a book that looks like it's exactly what you're
looking for.  It's called "Think .NET," written by Bart DePetrillo. 
The back cover, shown here,

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0789725959/ref=lib_dp_TBCV/102-1428427-7341720?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader&img=34#reader-link

describes the book as "not a how-to book and not filled with code
examples.  What you will take away is a deep understanding of what
.NET is and knowledge of the .NET Framework.  This comprehension will
provide an unbiased, big picture of .NET and will help you determine
whether .NET is in your future and how best to utilize its
technologies."  It looks like an excellent resource on the "how's,"
"why's," and "what's" of .NET from a non-technical viewpoint.

Best of all, you can pick it up for $1.12 "like new," from here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/0789725959/all/ref=dp_pb_a/102-1428427-7341720

2 readers gave it 4 stars and said this about it:

"Good high-level read of what .NET is. I wouldn't recommend it for
developers, but for managers or someone wanting to know more about
.NET 'from above' I recommend it.

"great book for non coders to get a neat insight/overview in the .NET
topic. well written - easy reading! in short: worth the time and money
..."

You can check out the inside of the book here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0789725959/ref=lib_dp_TFCV/102-1428427-7341720?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader#reader-link


Here are some additional links:

Microsoft .NET for dummies
http://www.bcentral.com/articles/enbysk/147.asp

What Does Microsoft's .NET Mean for E-Commerce?
http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/16966.html

Using Microsoft .NET to Transform Your Company into a Connected
Enterprise
(mix of tech and non-tech)
http://www.equarius.com/downloads/Connection_1_2.pdf



If these resources are not high-level enough, please don't hesitate to
tell me, and I will see if I can find alternate options.

Thanks,

jbf

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 10 Sep 2003 17:58 PDT

Microsoft .NET Explained
http://docs.msdnaa.net/ark_new/Webfiles/WhitePapers/nxp2.doc

Figuring out .NET
http://www.bigredswitch.com/blog/archives/000017.html

Why .NET will benefit other platforms
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-960049.html

Thanks, jbf777.  This was all good information.  I think the article
that best resonded to our need for a marketing-oriented answer was the
very last one from equarius.  But the other information was valuable,
too.  We've ordered a couple of copies of the $1.11 book.  The last
chapter looks like it will summarize the benefits.  But it appears
that in order to really appreciate .NET, we're going to have to read
the whole book and possibly some others.

Thanks again for your help!

Hi, wardtalktothebeaver-ga:

Since jbf777-ga has answered the question by providing numerous links
to other sites on the Web, I'd like to provide my own opinion about
what will make .NET programs "better" for the consumer than software
developed in another manner.

Of course software runs on many platforms, and cross-platform
comparisons are tricky to make.  So let's simplify a bit by
restricting ourselves to software running on "Windows" platforms.

One asset of the .NET developed programs is derived from the Just In
Time compilation process.  As more powerful instruction sets become
available with new generations of CPUs, the IL assembler in .NET will
be upgraded to take advantage of new optimizations.  This is the sort
of advantage that takes effect over a passage of time, measured in
months or years.

Of immediate impact is the memory management (garbage collection)
architecture of the .NET managed environment.  Although .NET programs
must for the time being continue to rely on Win32 and COM subsystems,
which are prone to resource leaks, eventually Microsoft will likely
produce an operating system which is based on the resource management
design espoused by .NET.  In the meantime we can expect reduced memory
leaks in components wholly developed with .NET managed code
assemblies.

regards, mathtalk-ga

Thank you, mathtalk,

These seem like important aspects from the developer's point of view. 
Automatic garbage collection alone is a huge time saver.  Perhaps it
will turn out that there are significant benefits for developers who
use .NET, but trying to impress on non-technical people how those
benefits translate into end-user benefits will be impossible.

I very much appreciate your comments.

Anytime!  Thanks for the rating and kind words.  Hope things work out
for you.  If you have any questions, please let me know.