This document summarizes a presentation about the history and evolution of the .NET platform. It discusses how .NET was initially developed as a response to problems with COM/DCOM and C++. It then covers the key components of early .NET implementations like the CLR and CTS. The presentation describes how .NET expanded with new frameworks and fell behind market trends. It outlines Microsoft's shift to embrace open source and how this led to the development of .NET Core to make .NET cross-platform and modular. The talk concludes by discussing how .NET Standard 2.0 further streamlined APIs to improve compatibility.