REDMOND, Wash., March 19, 2001 -- Though consumers and businesses have found enormous value in technology for personal empowerment and business productivity and efficiency, there is still room for improvement. Currently, users have a variety of different applications, devices, services they use daily but those technologies don’t work seamlessly with one another, and they require users to adapt to each technology rather than having the technology adapt to them or work together on the user’s behalf.

Microsoft today announced a set of enabling services -- codenamed "HailStorm" -- which are intended to advance the Microsoft .NET strategy and will enable developers to build user-centric XML Web services that offer a new level of personalization for both consumers and business users. Microsoft showcasedfive major partners , including American Express, ClickCommerce, eBay, Expedia and Groove, who showed prototypes and conceptual demos. FINDOUT MORE.....