Viewing information on The Microsoft Network is as easy as browsing through a local area network in Windows 95, because users use the same navigational tools. To move from service to service within The Microsoft Network, users double-click icons or use Windows Explorer.
Users can navigate to any of the services offered in a forum in many different ways, including the following:
The Microsoft Network structures the large body of information it presents to users into a content tree. The content tree is organized so that broad categories of information are stored at the highest level, with folders at successive levels containing progressively more detailed information. The top folder in the content tree is called the Categories folder, and the contents of this folder will rarely, if ever, change.
The content tree enables users to quickly find services within The Microsoft Network and, based on a user's membership privileges, to view, subscribe, or access specific information, applications, and services.
All the services and content provided by The Microsoft Network are stored in distributed SQL databases in a Microsoft-owned data center. Initially, The Microsoft Network will have a single data center near Seattle, Washington, but Microsoft plans to provide several more data centers around the world.