Microsoft today released Silverlight 1.0, its cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering interactive apps on the Web. It’s often compared to Adobe’s Flash plug-in and is certainly a direct competitor of Flash.
Also today Microsoft announced they’ll work with Novell to deliver Silverlight support for Linux, in a project called Moonlight – based on the open source Mono project of the same name. As CNET reported in June, work on the Moonlight plug-in was started in May, after Microsoft’s Mix conference – where Silverlight was first announced.
As is usual whenever Microsoft launches a new technology, it comes with high profile content provider support. They announced today some new Silverlight apps on US broadcasters Entertainment Tonight, HSN and World Wrestling Entertainment. Microsoft also launched the Silverlight Partner Initiative, to enable third party vendors to collaborate.
In the announcement, Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie emphasized the cross-platform nature of Silverlight, noting that “Silverlight will further accelerate the growth in rich interactive applications by giving developers and designers new options for delivering great experiences that span the Web, PC, phone and other devices.”
Example Silverlight app
