Essentially, X Internet is an idea built on a software model that uses executables (programs). The server sends the user a program that loads onto the user's PC (Palm/cell phone). The situation arises of having "brains at  both ends of the wire, resulting in a high-IQ, interactive, valuable conversation" (G. Colony, Forrester). X Internet is similar to a conversation going both ways, as opposed to the download-centric, book-like current Web.

An X Internet application would be any application that has all of the following characteristics (by Jim Taylor):
 - communicates over the Internet, 
 - scales (performs acceptably with increased usage; response times do not degrade under a heavy load - see Note),
 - requires no administrative setup (executables can be downloaded & run without burdensome installation routines), 
 - gives the user an added agility and/or functionality over what  is possible with a conventional browser. 
 

There are those who agree with this point of view. Redherring.com quotes Forrester and offers the names of two companies as "pioneers [in] the X Internet takeover": Zaplet and Droplets. 

On the other hand, there are those who do not share the excitement. The opposing view suggests that X Internet is only an extension of various approaches that are already visible today. Specifically, they include the development of Peer-to-Peer networks (ICQ, Napster) and the usage of applets  , Java applets   and Flash  , which added a lot to the Web, but hardly even revolutionized it, not to mention killing it.

So far, there is little written about X Internet, but it could be expected that Colony will continue "pushing" the concept more aggressively this spring. 

There are two ways of looking at the following description of new technologies and products. First, they could be considered a first wave of products of the X Internet "era" as they have the characteristics of X Internet applications. Alternatively, skeptics could make a case that these new technologies are merely an extension of the Web and are far from being revolutionary enough to stand on their own and/or to take over the WWW. The reality, however, offers a middle ground. It could argued that these new products, indeed, represent the use of executables in the way X Internet intended, but the development of X Internet is incremental (i.e. building on, adding to the WWW) rather than the extreme situation of the death of the web as described by Colony. 
 

The company is licensing the Zaplet platform for use by corporations and organizations for marketing, customer service, workgroup collaboration and other applications. Pricing hasn't been finalized, but Zaplets aren't expected to be cheap - "think millions of dollars," said Zaplet's CEO Baratz. 

There are several disadvantages to Zaplet in the form it exists today. First, it looks bad (or is not readable at all) in older e-mail clients, particularly Eudora and Lotus Notes (although Zaplet promises a fix). Also, a copy of a Zaplet is stored on Zaplet's server, which is a risk a lot of corporations are not likely to take since "good" companies find it inadvisable to place a customer database in the hands of an external data provider.
 

Droplets are compatible with Windows systems and Mac (currently with limited functionality); Linux and Palm OS ports are reportedly being developed. A potential weakness for Droplets is that they are written in C++ or Java, so the company will have to depend on the third-party developers to push customized Droplets to corporate customers.

Droplets says that their product will offer three primary selling points: 
   - portability in the form of a My Droplets interface that can be accessed from any browser; 
   - easier, less expensive administration in that Droplets are managed on a server; and 
   - end-user experience that's more like full-fledged desktop app than a pokey Web form. 
     (from Droplet's 20001 Fact Sheet)
Because the demos aren't live, it's impossible to assess that critical performance claim.
 

Although Hewlett-Packard never mentions X Internet, I argue that its vision of e-services together with so-called "Chapter Two", mimics the idea of X Internet in many aspects:
- e-speak is developed on the idea of "proliferation of apps-on-tap";
- e-services are to be available on the Net, without necessarily having to be accessed via a website (executables);
HP's vision for the future of e-services "demonstrates how "things" [applets, executables] on the Net will [get] in - our cars, networked devices, and virtually anything with a microchip in it". 
"Chapter Two" describes the same situation that Colony predicts X Internet will make possible. But what Forrester named X Internet, HP calls e-service; HP's do-it-for-me "thing" might as well be called a bot.

HP promises that e-speak will be a "universal open platform for … [e-]services that will span all Internet-enabled computing environments and computing devices". 

The company collects a fee for developing a Gizmoz for a client, and another fee each time a customer downloads/   views the Gizmoz. In the future, Gizmoz wants to distribute its devices to set-top boxes, PDAs and cell phones.

In relation to X Internet, Gizmoz is just like the idea of executable (or bots) in that it "shifts the experience from 'go search for something' to 'bring me more of the things I love'" (J. Sculley). 

Peer-to-peer networks: X Internet gives users the technology to bypass economic and legislative bridges, thus, giving a rise to "epidemic of Napstering". It would be a mistake to assume that P2P networks have no direct implications for businesses. Already, Groove Networks   focuses on business applications for collaboration over the Internet, using standards such as XML and Microsoft COM. It enables closely-knit groups to interact on a broad range of activities within secure, shared virtual spaces, in real-time, or in different places at different times. 
 

2X Internet: is a two-way Internet, the idea of which was developed by Gomez. 2X Internet has such characteristics:
  --- local: it relies on the ability of desktop PCs to do much of the work necessary to assemble and serve a complex site (nowadays, they only retrieve information)
  --- global: it relies on customers to connect to a global network of servers that run highly distributed applications (connecting to a local networks without having to look for servers that are time zones away
  --- metered: all interactions will be metered, analyzed and charged to customers; due to the infrastructure needed and the complexity of interactions, fee-for-service models will be used… (by John Robb, President of Gomez)

2X Internet recognizes P2P contributions (i.e. personal publishing and interactions) to the larger computing architecture (as does Colony), but denies the importance of web executables to the future development of Internet. 

There are several problems overcoming which is potentially a much harder task than bringing X Internet to life: 

  1. Viruses: "Once executables start to move fluidly through the Net, viruses will have perfect condition to propagate" (G. Colony). Although Colony doesn't go into more detail about this threat, it seems that viruses have the potential not only of delaying the coming of X Internet, but could stop it from ever developing. For instance, the most common type of viruses, file infecting viruses, use executables as host to spread themselves. Today, users are already terrified of viruses, so it is unclear what could be done in the future to change their minds and persuade them to make a habit of downloading executables off the Internet.
 

That said, there is a future for X Internet (though it might not be as bright as Colony wishes it were). Apart from already discussed business usage of each particular application (Zaplet's B2E and B2C e-mail surveys, Droplet's B2B exchange, etc.), X Internet represents a more general trend toward a more-client-oriented application. For example, consider the way AOL presents the Internet to its clients: all in the easy-to-use categories, so an average client has no need to browse the web (admittedly, many people still feel uncomfortable hearing "surf the web" or "look for it on the web"). Thus, an executable that these users can download represents an ideal situation of "being connected", yet, at the same time, not having to deal with the technology directly. As the number of people using the Internet increases, logically, the percentage of "average users" will grow proportionally (think about it: those who are "into" technology have been on the Internet longer than it existed, and those who are afraid of technology, today, are forced into using it). Those people would be a primary market for executables. 

On a final note, X Internet is, more than anything else, a reminder that it is in the very definition of technology to change. The WWW, however great we might think it is, will change as technology changes in search of something better, more functional, more useful, and smarter. Companies must be prepared to make that change with as well. 
 

Snippets was founded in 1998, headquartered in Northern California and is privately held. Its list of partners includes 2Bridge, OnVANTAGE, Pixo, Semtor, and TQINET. 

Gizmoz  (renamed from Zapa Digital Arts) received $14 million in financing from Chase Equity Associates and Polaris Venture as well as America Online, Giza GE Venture Fund and 1-800-Flowers.com and another $10 million were received in earlier rounds. Gizmoz's chairman is former Pepsi and Apple Computer exec John Sculley. The company has headquarters in Tel Aviv (60 employees), and an office in New York (another 20 employees). Currently, the company generates less than $10 million in revenues; it declines the opportunity to name clients other than 1-800-Flowers.com. 

Groove Networks provides a solution platform and application for P2P Internet interaction. Ray Ozzie, best known as Lotus Notes' creator, founded it in1997. Groove Networks is a privately held company headquartered in Beverly, Mass. Since the founding, it has obtained around $60 million in financing from Accel Partners, Intel Capital, and private investors.
 

 

I would like to thank very much all who helped me to finish this paper. I have been annoying trying to get the information from you, and so I apologize. I hope this report has been helpful and you've enjoyed reading it. If, unintentionally, I have not mentioned your name, please e-mail me and I'll gladly correct such error.

Я благодярю всех кто помог мне закончить работу над этим проектом. Скорее всего, я часто "доставала" бесконечными вопросами, и за это я извиняюсь. Надеюсь, что информация здесь предложенная была вам полезной и сиё чтиво было увлекательным (насколько позволяет данная тема). Если случайно я забыла поместить где-то ваше имя, пожалуйста шлите мне e-mail и я неприменно исправлю ошибку.