Microsoft & .NETVisual BasicWhy Developers Should Embrace Microsoft Agent

Why Developers Should Embrace Microsoft Agent

Developer.com content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

A lot of technologies have come and gone over the years, others have just taken a back seat. Technologies like ‘push’ were great for a while, then they kind of died off. But now a new technology is picking up steam and it’s more likely to stay. Developers everywhere, brace yourselves for Microsoft Agent.

First of all we had better get to know more about Agent. It was
created by Microsoft Research labs and was released in the fall of 1997. A good way of
putting it is to say that Microsoft Agents are like really cool Office Assistants. And at
first glance, they might appear to be just that. But really, once you get to know the
technology, you’ll see that they are so much more. They are a user interface like
none other we have ever seen before. Responding to spoken input, speaking back at you, and
personified, these characters are truly amazing.

Microsoft Agent is programmed in Visual Basic with the greatest
ease. Any language that supports ActiveX will work, but VB and VBScript are the easiest.
Agents make wonderful additions to help files as they relax the user and can help them
find information more quickly. They would make great game opponents or the main interface
for a setup wizard. Agents are already in use as the tour guides of web sites.

MS Agent was recently released in version 2.0. Microsoft Office
2000 now supports Agent technology and uses it as the base for the Office Assistants.
Windows 2000 is slated to include the technology. There are only a few little problems
keeping Agent back from the entire world. Agent only works on Windows operating systems,
and unless you have a special plug-in, it will not work in Netscape, only Internet
Explorer. When these few changes are made for version 3.0, along with a lot of the other
cool features Microsoft has promised, Agent will not be forgotten. Microsoft has already
said that the abilities of Agent 3.0 could never have been incorporated into version 2.0.

Now why is Microsoft Agent going to stay when so many other
technologies have faded? Well the answer is simple. Voice. Industry analysts agree that
voice enabled and activated products will be the wave of the future. Receiving e-mail and
fax in your car will be done via voice. And the biggest reason Microsoft Agent will be the
leader in voice interfaces is because it is a Microsoft product. So is the Windows
operating system. One day in the not too distant future we are going to see a version of
Windows based on Microsoft Agent technology. Visual Basic is rapidly becoming an
alternative to C++. And that’s why VB developers should embrace Microsoft Agent now.

If you would like to know more about Microsoft Agent, please check
out the links I have provided below:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msagent
http://www.educationx.com/deve/agent
http://www.argolink.com

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Developer Insider for top news, trends & analysis

Latest Posts

Related Stories