What Is an ASP File? Files created with Active Server Pages have the extension .ASP. This story is an example; take a look at the address above. With ASP files, you can activate your Web site using any combination of HTML, scripting such as JavaScript or Visual Basic?

Is It Hard to Use? I don't know about you, but whenever people start talking about doing things on the server, I start to get nervous. I think a lot about threading issues, synchronization, and generally stuff without a user interface. I assume it's going to be hard to do. Well, using ASP is about as easy as anything I've come across in years.

Aw, Mom. Not Another Object Model! I really hate doing this to you, but I'm going to have to use that overused and overcomplex term "object model" again. Here's how it works. When a browser requests an ASP file from your Web server, your Web server calls Active Server Pages to read through the ASP file, executing any of the commands contained within and sending the resulting HTML page to the browser.

Upon the official launch of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which spent several years in the making, the hardware from Gates and company received plenty of consumer hype. It was heralded by some as the big system watch in the upcoming next-generation console wars—a force with which to be reckoned. However, the Playstation 3 has its fans that feel that they are experts in high-definition technology, enjoy planning more games than the “other guy” and want to get the most for their money. Sony fans wanted to convince themselves that it was wise to wait for the PS3 (Playstation 3). 360's launch lineup was impressive; there are 18 games and five first-person shooters. It can even be argued that the 360's overall average quality of titles is greater than that of any previous system. And yet not a single game is a Killer App? Where's the Halo? Where's the Mario? Where's the unbridled interest?

It’s a fact that PS2 launched with an unimpressive collection of games and PS 1 featured a similarly undistinguished lineup. With the advent of PS3, however, Microsoft may have wished it more heavily accentuated one game its new console could always be known for. PS3 has plenty to brag about with the Metal Gear potential, Warhawk, Tekken, I-8, Gran Turismo, Killzone and a dozen other high profile games that are already hits with PlayStation fans. Business Week magazine compiled a report that estimates the total cost of components in the “premium” bundle of the Xbox 360 system sold at $525 USD, sans manufacturing costs, meaning that Microsoft is losing money on every Xbox 360 system sold. In the console game industry, the strategy of selling a console at a loss or near-less is common. Console makers can usually expect to make up the loss through game licensing.