Silverlight

Microsoft Silverlight coming to mobile devices this year

Microsoft's Silverlight browser plug-in will be bringing videos and other rich media to Nokia smartphones later this year.

The two companies on Tuesday at Microsoft's Mix '08 conference are scheduled to announce that Microsoft will write a version of Silverlight for Nokia's Series 60 (S60) smartphone software that runs on Symbian OS. The software, which will be available later this year, will also run on Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets.

For people with compatible devices, it means they will be able to see content, notably video, written for Silverlight, which Microsoft is pushing as an alternative … Read more

Microsoft to take Silverlight offline eventually, says exec

There are a number of software projects that enable Web applications to run offline, including Adobe's AIR, Google Gears, and the Mozilla Foundation's Prism. What about Microsoft and its Silverlight browser plug-in?

Microsoft does not currently have specific plans to bring offline capabilities to Silverlight, but it's something it will eventually do, said John Case, general manager in Microsoft's developer division.

"It's something that we will want to do," Case said in an interview on Monday. "Eventually, customers will expect us to do it."

Silverlight is Microsoft's cross-platform plug-in for … Read more

New services, frameworks and tools on tap for Mix

Coming up this week, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie will make one of his rare public appearances to give developers the latest word on the future of the Web and Microsoft software at the Mix '08 conference in Las Vegas.

Ozzie is heading up Microsoft's effort to embrace the Web as a platform, which started in October 2005, when Bill Gates fired off a memo to his executive staff and distinguished engineers with the following call to action:

"The next sea change is upon us. We must recognize this change as an opportunity to take our offerings to … Read more

With Adobe AIR out, Microsoft readies Silverlight 2

Adobe on Monday released the long-awaited AIR download for running Web applications offline, but Microsoft is readying an update to its Silverlight platform that it hopes will keep Web developers in its camp.

Microsoft will release the first beta of Silverlight 2 "shortly," said Scott Guthrie, a general manager in Microsoft's developer division in charge of Web development, in his blog on Friday. Next week, the company is hosting its Mix '08 Web development and design conference in Las Vegas.

Silverlight 2 is a significant upgrade to the existing edition because it's designed to let programmers … Read more

Silverlight for Linux gets mid-2008 release date

While Microsoft's Silverlight recently went 1.0 for Mac and Windows users, the last time we got a progress report on the version for Linux called "Moonlight" was early September. In a report by eWeek, who was covering today's XML Conference in Boston, Novell's vice president of developer platforms, Miguel de Icaza, noted that not only is Moonlight set to release within the next six months, but they're working on getting support for all major Linux distributions. De Icaza is also quoted as saying he didn't want Moonlight to lag behind Silverlight in … Read more

Sun starts bidding adieu to mobile-specific Java

SAN FRANCISCO--One area where Sun Microsystems' Java caught on was in mobile phones, but a leader of the project is working to eventually replace the mobile-specific version of the software.

Java Standard Edition (SE), geared for desktop computers, will gradually supplant Java Micro Edition (ME) as technology improvements let more computing power be packed into smaller devices, said James Gosling, the Sun vice president often called the father of Java.

"We're trying to converge everything to the Java SE specification. Cell phones and TV set-top boxes are growing up," Gosling said at a Java media event here … Read more

The other 20% on Novell or, When interop isn't

I'm all for interoperability. But I have to wonder at Novell's and Microsoft's apparent definition of the term. Miguel de Icaza rightly took me to task for blanketing Novell with criticism yet, as was pointed out today, there is good reason for criticism of Moonlight/Silverlight:

To the extent that it requires Microsoft patent approval to be effective (and it does, by Miguel's own admission), it is shackled in its potential. Interoperability is to Microsoft what prostitution is to a pimp: a great source of control and income.

Jason Matusow (a great friend and Microsoft employee) crows about what a great example Moonlight is of Microsoft's interop work. But Jason, you have actually only succeeded in proving the point of Microsoft's critics: Microsoft can't seem to engage in interop except on its own, very closed terms. This isn't interoperability.

In other contexts, this is called extortion.… Read more

Microsoft and Novell move in together or, how open source helps the also-ran

It's getting to the point that Microsoft and Novell just need to get married and stop shamming the "dating dance." I'm referring, of course, to the announcement today that the two companies are formalizing "a collaboration between Microsoft and Novell with the explicit purpose of bringing Silverlight to Linux and do this in a fully supported way.

What "fully supported" means is a question that Mary Jo Foley asks, and does a good job of answering. (She also points out that this collaboration/development has been much stronger than Novell and Microsoft have been telling us.)

But the most interesting take is Tim O'Reilly's:… Read more

Silverlight goes 1.0, adds Linux support

Microsoft released Silverlight 1.0 on Tuesday and said it has partnered with Novell to deliver a Linux version of the software.

In addition, Microsoft announced a number of consumer Web sites will use Silverlight to distribute video.

Silverlight is a cross-platform Web browser plug-in for displaying interactive Web applications and an alternative to Adobe's Flash Player, which has become the de facto standard for video on the Web.

The Novell deal will result in a Linux version of Silverlight called Moonlight. Microsoft is also producing a version of Silverlight for Mac OS X.

The expanded platform support could … Read more