News Blog

Tapping into its deep development tool experience, Microsoft has shown how it intends to duel Adobe and others in an ongoing rich Internet applications race.

At the Mix '07 conference, Microsoft announced that .Net languages can now be used to write applications for Silverlight, a cross-platform browser plug-in that it's offering as an alternative to Adobe's Flash.

Microsoft also announced the Dynamic Languages Runtime, an extension to the .Net Framework that enables people to use dynamic, or scripting, languages to write Silverlight or Windows applications.

Microsoft is making the source code for the Dynamic Languages Runtime available under its Permissive License, which allows for commercial distribution and modifications to the code without having to pay royalties to Microsoft.

By opening the number of languages, Microsoft makes Silverlight friendly to a large number of developers, notably the millions of people familiar with .Net languages like C# and Basic.

Right now, Adobe's Flex development tool works with ActionScript, a JavaScript compatible language.

That comprehensive tool strategy, in addition to better video fidelity and more efficient streaming than Flash, differentiates Microsoft, said S. Somasegar, vice president of Microsoft's tool division.

"Because the .Net programming model is much richer, people can do applications much easier and the capabilities are going to be more broad-ranging," he said.

At Mix, Microsoft demonstrated Silverlight applications and tools working on both Windows and Mac, which will be included in the 1.0 version set for release this summer.

The next place to bring the Silverlight runtime is mobile devices, Somesegar said, something that Microsoft also demonstrated at Mix. Windows Mobile already runs the .Net Compact Framework, which can be extended to run Silverlight applications, he noted.

"Linux (Silverlight support) is a lower priority than devices," he said.

One place that Silverlight applications will not go is outside the browser, Somesegar said.

Adobe's Apollo is a "player" that allows Web applications to run on a desktop machine. But Microsoft doesn't intend to take that approach, at least for now, Somasegar said.

Also, on Monday, Forest Key, Microsoft's director of product management in Microsoft's Server and Tools Division, said that Microsoft expects to bring Silverlight to the Opera browser.

Ray Ozzie at Mix '07

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com)

LAS VEGAS--Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, on Monday introduced a video-streaming service and announced .Net development tool support for Silverlight, its cross-platform Web browser plug-in.

Ozzie was the keynote speaker at Mix '07, Microsoft's conference aimed at Web developers and designers, where he laid out Microsoft's strategy for providing tools for a range of applications, including pure Web browser-based applications as well as those that combine on-premise software with online services.

On Monday, Microsoft launched a service called Silverlight Streaming, a Microsoft-hosted service that lets people embed streaming media into a Web page. Storage for video feeds and photos is free "with reasonable limitations," Ozzie said.

Silverlight is Microsoft's alternative to Adobe's Flash Player, which has become a de facto standard for video on the Web.

In addition, Ozzie announced that Microsoft will make Silverlight a "full-fledged member of the .Net family." That will allow .Net programmers to write Silverlight applications. Until now, Silverlight, which is now in beta, has been able to run applications written in Microsoft's XAML and JavaScript.

With .Net support, people trained in Microsoft .Net languages, such as C# or Visual Basic, can write applications that run on Web browser, including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari on the Mac. To do that, Microsoft will provide a cross-platform version of the .Net framework, said Scott Guthrie, general manager of Microsoft's servers and tools division.

Microsoft also announced on Monday the availability of a Web designer tools called Expression Studio.

Microsoft is rolling out Silverlight, its competitor to Adobe's Flash technology, today at the Mix '07 event in Las Vegas. I'm sitting in the audience waiting for the keynote to start and will report on interesting developments as they happen.

For a news preview, see Martin LaMonica's story on News.com, Microsoft opens up on Web strategy at Mix '07.

Ray Ozzie on stage now, saying that the "pendulum is swinging once more," in the Web vs PC world. The "vs." is the Web, openness and "creepy behavioral analytics," vs. freedom and openness. Did he really say that? Yes, but at the same time he's pushing the flexibility of the Web and talking about the "power of browser extensions" and the growth of rich internet applications.

The richness of apps that people need, and the number of platforms (mobile, gaming, PC, etc), makes things complex for developers. What's a developer to do?

There are "Universal Web" apps that have to run on everything, and "Experience First" apps that are designed to maximize the user experience on a particular device. Ozzie runs down a potential breakdown - Web for universal app, downloaded app for richer interactivity. Doing both brings together "best of the Web and best of the device," is very powerful, and keeps the "service as the hub."

So what's the news? Silverlight was announced two weeks ago, Ozzie says. Today he's announcing that Microsoft is bringing .Net technology together with Silverlight. "Silverlight brings .Net to the universal Web." Showing demo now of desktop apps using Silverlight running against Web-based apps.

Apps include rich content browsers (watch the pages turn), 3D worlds for gaming and shopping, media, and cool 3D analytics.

Ozzie recognizing that most media is created on the desktop even though it's viewed online. MS releasing full suite of tools for media people and designers. Expression Studio is officially shipping today.

Ozzie announcing new APIs for developers to give developers access to MS apps like Virtual Earth. And with those new APIs, new commercial license terms for using them.

New cool "zoomability" API for navigating pictures. Based on PhotoSynth. This is actually very cool.

Silverlight is just one of MS' "foundational investments." "Today beings the conversation and refinement" of the technology.

New part of Silverlight: "Silverlight Streaming," which allows developers to post apps to Microsoft's "storage server in the cloud," for delivery to publishers' Web sites. "It's on us (with some reasonable limitations)."

The pendulum has swung from pure software to pure service, to a blend of software and service.

Ozzie bringing up Scott Guthrie now, for demos.

Related Links:
A new Microsoft software plus service: Silverlight Streaming (ZDNet)
Ray Ozzie: Silverlight + .NET and 'experience first' software (ZDNet)
Images: Dawn of Silverlight (ZDNet)
Various Silverlight videos--including a webcast of this event (Microsoft)

Microsoft next week at its Mix '07 conference plans to detail more generous business terms for partners to use its Live online services and to open up new application programming interfaces for Windows Live Spaces.

The company will allow outside developers--which can be at commercial enterprises--to build mash-up applications that generate up to one million unique user visits at their sites per month for free. Beyond that, Microsoft will charge 25 cents per user per year or look to establish a business relationship where it can deliver online ads to those sites, company executives said.

In addition, Microsoft will provide APIs to photos or contact information for its Windows Live Spaces users if they give permission. Windows Live Spaces is Microsoft's social networking site where people can post blogs, share photos and other information.

The goal is to drive traffic to Microsoft's Web properties and entice Web businesses to use Microsoft products and services, executives said.

"One of the innovations we will enable is to allow you to build a commercial business free and clear on these sets of services," John Richards director of product management for Microsoft's Windows Live Platform.

The company has tried to unify the business terms that let outsiders use its APIs and create consistent technical offering that they can count on for a few years, said George Moore, general manager of platform strategy for Windows Live.

Getting access to content from a person's contact lists--which is also covered under the free one million unique users per month threshold--can generate some potentially interesting mash-up applications, Richards said.

For example, an application could pull birthday dates from a person's contact information and automatically send a song via a music-sharing site.

At Mix, Match.com will show demonstration of how it has integrated Microsoft's instant messaging within its Web site via APIs. The integration will allow people to anonymously send messages to Match.com members.

Microsoft will offer the ability to let other sites integrate presence information through Windows Live Messenger within 90 days, Richards said.

In other changes, Microsoft will raise the limit on the number of free queries that can be done by commercial business from 10,000 to 25,000 per day or 750,000 queries per month.

Also at Mix, Microsoft is expected to release a beta of its Silverlight cross-platform browser plug in.