Microsoft's .NET technology offers many advantages to developers and users alike. From memory leak management to lowering cost of ownership, .NET is the way to go with modern versatile Web applications.

With the vast array of tools available to the .NET developer, dynamic Web content is much easier to create than ever before and the same controls that were once limited to desktop applications can now be used in Web applications. Database connectivity is made incredibly simple through the use of Microsoft's data libraries created from the ground up. And with the advent of .NET, Web services are now able to take advantage of the versatility of truly remote application and data transmission. To top it all off, veritably all of .NET's communication and setup uses XML to allow for self-defining, adaptable data and universally accepted standards that can be used across mediums and platforms.

.NET by nature is designed to make things faster, more reliable and more secure. By now using .NET for all web development, Digital Lagoon can offer accelerated development time, trouble-free deployment and tighter security for all of our clients. .NET improves every step of the development lifecycle in order to better your business.

The 2005 results are in, and once again online holiday sales were another banner year for 2005. Sales grew 25 percent year-over-year this holiday season. That's great news. eBay received more visits during the 2005 holiday season (Nov 1-Dec 31) than any other online retail site. Also in the top ten were Amazon, Wal-Mart, Apple Computers, Target, Dell, Toys R Us, Overstock.com, Best Buy and Circuit City.

According to one of the leading marketing groups in the U.S., consumers choose sites based on the following reasons, ranked by importance:

1. Ease of navigation
2. Visual appeal
3. Ease of checkout
4. Merchandise assortment
5. Delivery
6. Return options
7. Price

If you have ever considered starting an Internet business, then this is the right time. In 2005, more than a billion people went online, more than 250 billion searches were done, and total online sales accounted for over $170 billion according to Forrester Research.

2006 should see 200 million more potential customers online (2 billion by 2010!) and total Internet sales will increase another 25% or more.

Internet Facts and Figures -

• 300,000 people are joining the Internet every day
• Internet usage now doubles every two months
• Over 760 million people will go online in the next five years
• Four Web sites are being launched every second
• eBusiness is estimated to be a 350 billion dollar industry

The PC Virus: 20 Years old

20 years ago saw the arrival of the first PC virus. Before modern day email, "Brain" was transmitted only via floppy disk, but its success lay in its concealed location allowing it to infect every computer during installation of the actual program contained on the disk. It is believed that the original intention for this virus was to protect the software contained on the disk. Since then, the computer virus has evolved into a more malicious hazard. More than 150,000 virus programs are in existence today.

Digital Lagoon takes this threat seriously. Each incoming email on our server is scanned for viruses. Our server is also protected from viruses through an always up-to-date installation of Symantec Anti-Virus Corporate edition. Any file that is created or modified is scanned for viruses in real-time as the creation or change occurs. Virus definitions are updated three times daily to ensure the utmost level of protection against emerging threats.

Coffeyville Resources Announces Planned Expansion

This month, Coffeyville Resources announced plans for a $92 million expansion to increase refinery production of crude oil by 15% to more than 115,000 barrels per day. The refinery is located in Coffeyville, Kansas and was originally built in 1906. Corporate headquarters resides in Kansas City, Kansas. Completion of the refinery expansion project is planned for late this year.

Digital Lagoon has partnered with Coffeyville Resources to develop a Web site specifically for their crude oil owners and operators - www.coffeyvillecrude.com. The new Web site, launched in December 2005, delivers critical real-time data including up-to-date price bulletins, personalized ticket information and lease statements, as well as information about Coffeyville Resources and answers to frequently asked questions.

For more information about Coffeyville Resources, please visit them on the Web at www.coffeyvillegroup.com.

Charge for Email?

By now you've probably heard of plans that Yahoo and AOL plan to charge businesses for guaranteed delivery of their commercial email. Companies would have to pay between a penny and a quarter of a cent for each commercial message they want to send to AOL and Yahoo email users. Otherwise, their email messages could be delayed, blocked entirely or even sent to the users spam folder.

Introduced primarily as an attempt to reduce the amount of spam, industry experts have warned that the amount of spam we receive could actually increase because of the plan. This type of plan can guarantee delivery for mass email distribution based on revenue from the sender, not user preferences. Hence, more unwanted email for us all.

Stay tuned as this story unfolds. If you would like to learn about Digital Lagoon’s permission based, opt-in email marketing solutions, call 913-312-3521.