Microsoft will announce next week a new business Internet service, tied to its .Net strategy, that will allow eBay and other Web sites to contact and send messages to customers via PCs, cell phones and other handheld devices.
Microsoft plans to say that it has signed 20 companies to a new Web-based service, called .Net Alerts, according to sources close to the company. The service will notify subscribers of everything from updated sports scores to the shipping status of goods they've bought online. In the case of eBay, the online auction site can send buyers messages about the status of items they've bid on.
The new service is an element in Microsoft's forthcoming package of Web-based services, called .Net My Services. The company next year plans to offer content, shopping, banking, entertainment and other Internet services through a variety of devices, all linked to Microsoft's Passport authentication service, which houses a host of Web surfer information. It's part of the company's larger .Net strategy for shifting computing tasks online.
The alerts service will be the first .Net service that a computer user will be able to see and use
News source: CNet
