Beyond Binary

Ahead of a broadcasting conference that starts later this week in Amsterdam, Microsoft on Tuesday shared a few new details on the next version of Silverlight.

In particular, Microsoft said the next version of the Adobe Flash rival would support its PlayReady digital rights management technology for offline content. That feature should allow studios to offer extras commonly found on DVD and Blu-ray discs on movies that are distributed digitally, Microsoft said.

Microsoft has not said when the new version--Silverlight 4--will ship. Silverlight 3 was launched in July at an event in San Francisco.

At that time, Microsoft said it is aiming to have Silverlight on half of all Internet-connected devices by next year. That's still a far cry from Adobe's Flash, which is almost ubiquitous on PCs and on a growing number of cell phones as well.

Also on Tuesday, Microsoft said it would release in the next 30 days its Internet Information Services (IIS) Media Services 3.0, which allows so-called "Live Smooth Streaming" of content. The technology has already been used in beta form since May to offer coverage of events such as the French Open tennis tournament, the Tour de France cycling event, and the Michael Jackson memorial.

SAN FRANCISCO--By next year, half of all devices connected to the Internet will have Silverlight, says Microsoft's Walid Abu-Hadba.

That will still be just a fraction of the number of phones and computers that have a version of Adobe's Flash, but Abu-Hadba said that it will be enough to really start changing the mindset of those who create content for the Web.

Abu-Hadba

(Credit: Microsoft)

"It's a totally different game," said, Abu-Hadba, who leads Microsoft's developer and platform evangelism efforts. Abu-Hadba noted that Microsoft now has a set of features that can appeal to both those streaming large-scale Web video content, as well as software developers aiming to create programs that run inside of businesses.

His comments came following Microsoft's launch Friday of Silverlight 3, the latest version of its technology for rich media applications. The new version allows for programs that work in and out of the browser, supports up to 1080p streaming, and lets users pause and rewind a live video stream.

One of the areas where Microsoft still has work to do is on the phone side. Microsoft has long talked about offering Silverlight on phones, even hoping to bring it to Apple's iPhone, but today it is not commercially available for any phone.

"It's taken a little bit longer than we would have wanted, absolutely," said Abu-Hadba.

However, Abu-Hadba and fellow developer unit executive Scott Guthrie say that Microsoft has also taken the approach that it wants the Silverlight experience on the phone to match that offered on the PC, as opposed to having different versions as Adobe does with Flash. Also, Guthrie said, the landscape for the phone has changed dramatically, with more phones adding the kind of graphics chips necessary to do hardware-based acceleration.

"We want to make sure people have a 'wow' experience," Guthrie said.

Microsoft is beta testing its phone software for both Android and Windows Mobile and announcements are expected at this fall's Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles.

"You are going to hear a lot more details about it later this year," Guthrie said. (For more on Guthrie's take on Silverlight 3, check out the video embedded below.)

For his part, Abu-Hadba said he doesn't wonder if Silverlight will be around 10 years from now, but rather whether his rival will. He said that Adobe has committed itself to moving from a design-oriented company to one that aims to offer a general purpose Web platform, something he said the company doesn't have the resources or experiences to make happen.

"I don't believe they have the assets or the organizational structure," he said. "That's what we do for a living at Microsoft."

Abu-Hadba said Adobe would be better off picking a specialty and sticking to it.

"I don't think they will exist in 10 years in the form they are today," he said. It's a bold statement, he agreed, but added how unthinkable it would have been to predict in 2000 that Sun Microsystems would go away.

I'm checking in with Adobe. I'm thinking it might have a somewhat different take on the subject.

Microsoft Senior VP S. Somasegar notes that the early posting of Silverlight 3 to the Web was an accident and not a "clever marketing ploy."

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft kicked off its latest effort to challenge Adobe's Flash by launching Silverlight 3 at an event Friday.

The code actually made its debut a little early, hitting the Web on Thursday.

In his opening remarks on Friday, Microsoft Senior Vice President S. Somasegar made reference to Silverlight's premature release.

"I can tell you it wasn't a clever marketing ploy," Somegar said. "It was sort of a small mistake that somebody made and we decided to let it go."

Silverlight still has a long way to go to match Flash's ubiquity, with Adobe's technology found on nearly all PCs and a growing number of cell phones. Microsoft says Silverlight 2 is now on one in three Internet devices. That version launched nine months ago.

Silverlight has had a mixed record in its initial efforts to take streaming business from Adobe's Flash. It has scored key deals to power NBC's 2008 Summer and 2010 Winter Olympics sites.

It also won a deal to power Major League Baseball's Web site, but the league went back to Flash for the 2009 season, blaming stability and other issues, according to sources.

Among the new features in Silverlight 3 are the ability to create Silverlight applications that run outside the browser as well as support for a "smooth streaming" technology that allows video to be streamed at up to 1080p HDTV quality.

Microsoft announced a couple new customers for Silverlight on Friday including MGM which is using it to produce SGU: Stargate Universe site and Continental Airlines, which is remaking its reservation call-center application as a Silverlight application running via a Web browser. NBC also said it will use Silverlight for its high-quality video streaming across its sporting events.

As part of Friday's event, Microsoft also said version 3 of its Expression design tools will be available within the next 30 days. A release candidate version of one component, Expression Blend 3, was posted on Thursday to Microsoft's Web site.

Adobe's BrowserLab is a hosted service that allows Web developers to visualize what their site looks like in different browsers.

(Credit: Adobe)

Adobe on Tuesday said it is offering a free preview of its BrowserLab service, which allows Web developers to quickly see what their site looks like on a number of browsers.

The technology, previously code-named Meer Meer, was shown last year at the company's Max developer conference. Using virtualization, the tool can show how a site will look in Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari running on different operating systems. Running BrowserLab requires a Mac or PC with Adobe Flash 10.

"Cross-browser testing has been one of the biggest challenges for Web designers because it is such an arduous and time-intensive task," Adobe's Lea Hickman said in a statement. "Now with Adobe BrowserLab, designers have a simple solution that enables comprehensive browser compatibility testing in just a matter of minutes, leaving Web designers with more time to be creative and deliver the high-impact sites customers are demanding."

Designers can compare a site in two browsers side by side as well as use an "onion skin" mode that shows a site in multiple browsers overlaid one on top of the other.

Adobe said that the preview version would be free, though it plans to charge at some point.

BrowserLab "will move to be a paid service down the line, though we have not announced the timing," Adobe product manager Scott Fegette said in a statement. "Currently the focus is on getting the preview out to users and making sure we're providing the best possible user experience."

Microsoft showed off a similar tool, SuperPreview, at its Mix09 event in Las Vegas earlier this year. Microsoft announced that the latest version of its Expression Web software for Windows would include the feature and show multiple browsers via a cloud-based service. It also made a free standalone version of SuperPreview available to allow users to compare how Web pages render in the three latest versions of Internet Explorer--IE 6, IE 7, and IE 8.

Fegette said that Microsoft's approach requires a large PC-based application.

"All we know is what was announced about SuperPreview a couple months ago at Mix, which at its core appears to be a large, Windows-only desktop application available for download which provides previewing support for locally-installed versions of Internet Explorer 7 and 8 alongside a dedicated IE 6 emulator, with the promise of 'cloud-based access' to alternate operating systems and browsers at an undisclosed point in the future," Fegette said.

BrowserLab's "onion skin" view compares how a Web site looks in multiple browsers with different browsers' views overlaid on one another.

(Credit: Adobe)

Adobe added its name Wednesday to the list of companies warning of weaker sales and cutting jobs.

In a press release, the company said it would slash 600 jobs amid less-than-anticipated demand for its recently launched Creative Suite 4 series of products.

"The global economic crisis significantly impacted our revenue during the fourth quarter," Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said in a statement. "We have taken action to reduce our operating costs and fine-tune the focus of our resources on key strategic priorities."

The company said it now expects per-share earnings of 45 cents to 46 cents, on revenue of $912 million to $915 million for the three months ended November 28. The company had expected sales to come in as high as $955 million. The company said it expects revenue to drop further in the current quarter, with expectations now for revenue in the range of $800 million to $850 million.

The company said it will take pre-tax charges of $44 million to $50 million to account for the restructuring.

Among the things the company is apparently cutting: its booth at Macworld Expo.

Adobe Systems announced on Monday that it was taking steps to make Flash content on the Web more easily indexed by search engines. It touted deals with both Yahoo and Google, the top two search engines. Curiously absent was any statement about whether Microsoft would do likewise with its Live Search.

I was hoping that Microsoft might clear up the matter, but its response was "no comment." (It said it's possible that it'll have more to say, and I will post more when and if that comes.)

It's unclear whether there is a stumbling block and whether it might be Adobe that is uninterested in Microsoft or the other way around. Clearly, there is no love lost between the two around Flash--Microsoft is trying to take Flash head-on with its Silverlight technology, which was designed to be searchable.

That said, I can't imagine that Microsoft would want to have any more reasons out there for people not to use its search technology.

As a guy who spent a decade in Silicon Valley, Stephen Elop says he, too, had his doubts when he first heard about Microsoft's "software plus services" strategy.

"The initial impression of that, as an outsider, is 'Is that just a cheesy way of saying we are going to hold off as long as we can," said Elop, who was an executive at Macromedia and Adobe Systems before joining Microsoft earlier this year.

Stephen Elop

(Credit: Microsoft )

But, if Elop was initially skeptical, he's now an ardent believer. In an interview in San Francisco last week, the president of Microsoft's business division spoke like a lifelong 'Softie, extolling the virtues of everything from SharePoint to Office Live to Microsoft's OneNote note-taking program.

Microsoft has not always been the easiest place for outsiders, particularly those who have been chief executives in their prior jobs. Elop said that's one of the things he thought about a lot before agreeing to take over for Jeff Raikes, who is leaving Microsoft after a quarter century to become head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In deciding to go for it, Elop said he spoke to folks who had made the transition well, such as Ray Ozzie and Kevin Turner, the former Sam's Club CEO who is now Microsoft's chief operating officer. Elop said he also talked to some for whom things didn't work out so well. (He didn't name names and there's a long list of people who fit that category.)

One of the things that became clear was it doesn't work to come into Microsoft and tell everyone how well things work at other places.

That said, Elop is not a total convert to Redmond's ways. Although he was quick to pull out a Windows Mobile smartphone when asked, he also admits that his whole family uses iPhones and that his was in the car.

These days, Elop justifies using the iPhone as him trying out competitive technologies, an effort that also has him playing with Google Docs and using a host of other Web 2.0 services.

"I'm a believer you have to experiment with these things," Elop said.

Although Elop had many of his negative perceptions changed as he interviewed at and later joined Microsoft, he also said there are some areas where he would like to see things happen faster, particularly when it comes to online services.

He didn't give out much in the way of new product details, but suggested a larger role over time for advertising-funded software. Even some businesses, he said, might want to use some ad-based software.

Elop pointed to, say, a trucking business that might use traditional software for its offices but let those on the road check their company e-mail from a Web-based service. The key word is choice, he said. Businesses will get to choose between traditional software, subscription licensing, or having Microsoft host the software itself. Consumers, meanwhile, will have options funded by a wide range of business models.

Adobe Systems said on Friday that it has fixed a bug that delayed a planned update of its Photoshop Express program this week. The software maker said in a statement that the updated version of the free, Web-based photo editing program is now available.

"We're happy to report we have successfully fixed the bug that slightly delayed our newest feature update for the Photoshop Express beta," Adobe said in a statement. "New updates are now publicly available. We appreciate your patience as we focus on delivering a quality experience for our users."

Adobe had planned to go live with the update, which adds connectivity to Yahoo's Flickr service, on Wednesday, but delayed the update after the last-minute bug emerged.

When Microsoft's Brian Goldfarb talks about Silverlight, he is usually having one of two types of conversations.

One is centered on market share and the fact that Adobe Systems' Flash is nearly ubiquitous on Internet-connected PCs, while Microsoft's rival technology is still on only a minority of devices.

That conversation typically starts out something like this: "You're not on 98 percent of machines like Adobe, so why should we care?"

The other is a debate on Silverlight's technical merits vis-a-vis Flash. "Obviously the second conversation is the one I really want to have--why Silverlight is better," said Goldfarb, a group product manager in Microsoft's developer division.

One cool Silverlight feature is the Deep Zoom, which lets users browse images and zoom into the ones they want, in this case the memorabilia collection at the Hard Rock Cafe.

(Credit: Dan Farber/CNET News.com)

Goldfarb, like Microsoft, is keenly aware though, that until Silverlight fares better on the first front, many Web developers won't spend much time worrying about the second question.

Microsoft is taking several approaches to trying to boost Silverlight's distribution, ranging from striking third-party deals like its pact to power the NBC Olympics Web site to bundling Silverlight into other Microsoft products.

Although Goldfarb didn't use the word "bundling," he did say Microsoft is actively trying to get other product groups within the company to adopt Silverlight in some way and then distribute it as part of their product.

"We are working with a broad cross section of our product groups," he said, adding that evangelizing Silverlight across the company is still a challenge, even though CEO Steve Ballmer has highlighted the technology as key to its future. "It's a big ship to start turning around."

One of the earliest examples of Microsoft distributing Silverlight with other products: the new version of Office for Mac that shipped earlier this year.

Goldfarb acknowledges that there are many considerations in trying to decide which products to include Silverlight with, noting that people are sensitive to having software thrust upon them.

"What I want to avoid is arbitrarily pushing things on people's machines," he said. "Apple just jammed Safari 3.1 down as part of iTunes."

The tie with Office is somewhat tenuous, however. Silverlight is part of the standard installation of Office 2008 for Mac. Office itself doesn't use Silverlight, although the highest-end version of Office now comes with a product called Expression Media, which does make use of Silverlight, Goldfarb said.

Over time, Goldfarb said there's the possibility of further integration, such as having the help videos in Office 2008 use Silverlight.

Microsoft also uses Silverlight as part of the latest version of the MSN Toolbar, using it to offer display dynamic content, such as RSS feeds.

Another potential vehicle for distribution is convincing computer makers to preload Silverlight onto new PCs.

"Microsoft is already talking with leading (computer makers)," Goldfarb said, adding that the company has developed software that PC makers can use to preinstall Silverlight on new machines. Microsoft also signed a deal with Nokia to distribute a version of Silverlight for mobile phones.

"Overall, our intention is to use the Web to distribute Silverlight which offers an easy download experience that takes less than 10 seconds to install but we will also work closely with channel distributors to preinstall Silverlight as appropriate," he added.

Attracting mainstream developers
Greg DeMichillie, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, said that if Microsoft is willing to pay, computer makers will be willing to include Silverlight.

"The OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will preinstall anything if you pay them," he said.

DeMichillie said that whatever its strategy, Microsoft needs to get Silverlight on more than three-quarters of Web-connected PCs to really get mainstream developer attention.

"The magic number seems to be something like 80 percent," he said. "I've heard that from various Web developers."

While Microsoft showed some impressive technologies at its recent Mix '08 conference, DeMichillie said most Web developers want to see a lot more eyeballs before they are willing to consider an alternative to Flash. "If Flash is on 98 percent and Silverlight is on 10 percent, you don't even get to the merits of Silverlight. You just pick Flash."

Goldfarb wouldn't say what percentage of machines he thought were running Silverlight, pointing to the momentum numbers given out at Mix that Microsoft was generating 1.5 million downloads of Silverlight per day.

Goldfarb said the response from Web developers convinces him that Microsoft is on the right path. "We've already started to change the dialogue," he said. "People are believing. It's not a matter of 'if', it's a matter of 'when,' and 'when' isn't that far away."