Last week, Microsoft has just made available for download the Community Technology Preview of the Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere (codename). WPF/E is a Microsoft technology that enables AJAX-based cross-platform, interactive web experiences based on the Windows Media platform. In this context, WPF/E is a viable alternative to Adobe's Flash technology. But is it a Flash killer?

First off let's take a look at the numbers. According to data released by Adobe Systems, Adobe Flash Player is installed on over 700 million connected machines worldwide. Microsoft's own figures reveal that there are an estimated 854 million copies of the Windows operating system globally.

The final version of WPF/E will be released under the dominance of both Flash and Windows. And I put these two in the same equation because they are connected. The volume of Flash player downloads indicates that the overwhelming majority of Windows users have the Adobe browser plug-in installed on their systems. WPF/E will have to start at zero.

Well, not exactly. In fact, WPF/E will start at 854 million. This is a confrontation that the Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere has won long before its start, but which it could lose after the debut. There is no doubt in my mind that Microsoft will push WPF/E via Automatic Updates to all users of Windows. The Redmond Company is doing the very same thing with Internet Explorer 7. So WPF/E will indeed start at 854 million, but it is a question of convincing the users to accept the Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere install.

And Microsoft has prepared for this, introducing Microbe - the city where WPF/E and Flash live in harmony. You can see this from the adjacent image of by following the link. WPF/E is on the left, Flash is on the right. You can also see this by right clicking the animation. On the right side, the Flash menu will appear, while clicking on the WPF/E animation will not generate a similar menu. This is an example of interoperability between WPF/E and Flash. And it will be the key to the marketing of WPF/E.