Rocco Augusto
05-04-2007, 06:29 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39286913,00.htm?r=1' target='_blank'>http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39286913,00.htm?r=1</a><br /><br /></div><i>"At the Mix07 web developer and designer conference, Microsoft executives said the company will allow .Net developers to create applications for Silverlight, its alternative to Adobe Systems' Flash format. Microsoft on Monday released an alpha version of Silverlight 1.1 that will allow people to write applications using .Net applications such as C#. Version 1.0 of Silverlight will be available this summer. The Silverlight 1.1 download will include an edition of the .Net framework that will allow .Net applications to run on Windows or the Safari Macintosh browser."</i><br /><br />I have been playing around with a few of the Silverlight demos floating around on the Internet for a few weeks now. All in all, they are not too shabby. For those that are unaware, Silverlight is based off of the Windows Presentation Foundation technology which is also known as WPF and was formally codenamed Avalon. If one thing hasn't changed in the last few years since WPF was announced, it is that Microsoft still has the superhero ability to confuse its customer base to no end with the constant unpredictable renaming and branding of all of its applications. Unfortunately, I do not see this new technology being the Flash killer that Microsoft hopes it will be. While it is cool technology, I can’t help but imagine the thousands of different ways developers can, and most likely will, begin to annoy us with a flood of monkey punching and obese kid tickling banner advertisements. Because the truth is, we all would <i>really</i> like to win a new Apple iPhone!<br /><br />Now I know what some of you are going to say, because it is the same thing that is said every time I go off on a rant of why I dislike Flash, and now Flash-like technology, and the truth is, you all are absolutely right. I know there will be a slew of great products that will be delivered to us via these rich multimedia applications. I also know that for every great application that will be built in the near future, there will be a million applications built for the sole purpose of annoying us or trying to sell us something. Thanks Microsoft, this is <i>exactly</i> what we needed!