14 DAY TRIAL // Want to gain some insight into the evolution of Silverlight from version 1 to the latest Beta development milestone? Then Microsoft has just the right resource for you, the Silverlight Release History. Available through the Microsoft Download Center the Silverlight Release History is a .htm file which enumerates all the major versions of the technology.
At the same time, the Redmond company has made sure to keep track of every Silverlight release, including the updates, not just the new iterations.
Silverlight 1 Build 1.0.20816.00 was released on September 4, 2007, and at that time observers commented on Microsoft’s definite move against Adobe’s Flash.
At the same time, since back in 2007 the software giant was less committed to supporting modern web standards with Internet Explorer than it is today, critics also accused it of attempting to kill HTML5.
Fast forward four years later and Microsoft has not only not killed HTML5, but actually embraced it with IE9, while Adobe Flash is very much still alive also.
Silverlight 2 Build 2.0.31005.00 was launched on October 14, 2008 and it was followed in less than a year by Silverlight 3 Build 3.0.40624.00 on July 9, 2009.
Yet again in less than 12 months Silverlight 4 Build 4.0.50401.00 hit the web on April 15, 2010, and is the version to get most updates to date.
With the advent of Internet Explorer 9 things changes a tad on the HTML5 support front, and now the Redmond company received critics for an apparent move to kill Silverlight with IE9. Yes, it’s amazing how things change in just a few years.
This was of course not the case, and at MIX11, to show its support for Silverlight 5, Microsoft released the first Beta to developers.
Silverlight 5 is right on track for being finalized by the end of 2011, with the software giant noting that it remains committed to the technology.
Silverlight 5 Beta Developer Runtime for Windows is available for download here.
Silverlight 5 Beta Developer Runtime for Mac is available for download here.