The Economist does a nice job outlining the various players - and their allegiances. Bottom line? "All this may sound like business as usual, but at stake is nothing less than how the digital world of tomorrow will be organised. If web services take off, they will form a giant array of electronic offerings that will permeate every aspect of modern life. Which is why these offerings should ideally be based on open standards, rather than on the dictatorship, however benevolent, of a single company." You can probably sort that last bit out for yourself. Web services [Economist: Business] 

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