Why is everyone on about xml?

In the traditional world, a telephone handset was a telephone handset. In the new world of IP, what looks like a telephone handset is in fact a computer. If its an Alcatel IP handset then its a dumb terminal driven by a presentation server and if its a Cisco IP handset, its more or less a PC. The only restriction is the size and type of the display. In both cases the telephone interface is a web browser and as fashion accessory the IP telephone can sit where you the PC cant. We know all of this because Ghost Software, with its offshore software development resource, deals with a variety of IP platforms both in terms of Computer Telephony Integration and Voice over IP. This makes the IP handset ideal for retail, like shops in a shopping mall, in reception areas and banking foyers as well as in a ward in a hospital or a school library. What drives applications on these handsets is XML. So what kind of applications makes the purchasing of an IP handset worthwhile? In the early days of XML, people were populating browsers with Yellow Pages, stocks and share prices, news and weather updates. Sure, they look great but they didnt justify the price premium of the hardware. Our...