The newest version of Mono, the open-source implementation of Microsoft's .Net, makes it much easier for developers to <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1891470,00.asp">deploy .Net programs.</A> The Mono Project, which is sponsored by Novell, provides the software needed to run and develop Microsoft .Net client and server applications on Unix, Solaris, Linux and several other operating systems. Microsoft .Net runs only on Windows platforms. The brain-child of the noted developer, Miguel de Icaza, Mono has faced an uphill battle from development to production system. One major reason for this has been that it's been unable to auto-host Web applications.