14 DAY TRIAL // In the fall of 2007, Microsoft was introducing a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in designed to be the source of new, rich online user experiences. Fast-forward a little over two years and Silverlight is at the top of its game with uptake stronger than ever. During his keynote address at MIX10 this year, Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, .NET Developer Platform, revealed that the vast majority of computers and devices capable of connecting to the Internet were running Silverlight at the moment.
“At the PDC last November, we announced that Silverlight was installed on 45 percent of all Internet-connected devices in the world. Today, that number is now approaching 60 percent and accelerating rapidly,” Guthrie stated.
Microsoft is currently hard at work wrapping up the final development milestone of Silverlight 4. A Release Candidate of Silverlight 4 is already available for Windows and Mac OS X users, with the final version promised for April 2010. Linux users have Moonlight 2 available for download, and a Preview of Moonlight 3 has already also been offered, bringing to the table features beyond version 3 of Silverlight for Windows and Mac OS X.
And fact is that, if two years ago web developers could afford to shrug off Silverlight altogether and stick with Flash or with Java, this is no longer the case. Silverlight’s impressive adoption combined with the features it offers, such as Deep Zoom, Smooth Streaming, support for HD content, etc., represents undeniable opportunities for web development shops worldwide. The evolution of Silverlight to the fourth version, as well as the release of new technologies including the Silverlight Analytics Framework mean that even developers that have so far turned a cold shoulder to Silverlight, should at least start warming up to it, or risk missing out on it.
“We shipped the first version of Silverlight a little over two years ago and we're seeing it being used in a wide variety of pretty interesting and very diverse scenarios. Here's just a sampling of a few of the sites that have gone live over the last three months. It's being used for sporting events like Major League Soccer, the Winter Olympics, Sunday Night Football, and later this week, March Madness. It's being used for other events like the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, doesn't get much different than that,” Guthrie added.
Silverlight 4 SDK Release Candidate (RC) is available for download here.
Silverlight 4 Release Candidate (RC) Build 4.0.50303.0 is available for download here.
The Silverlight 4 Training Kit is available for download here.
Microsoft Silverlight Analytics Framework is available for download here.