silverlight

Apple announced third-party apps for the iPhone. Sounds a LOT like Adobe’s new AIR. Delivers HTML and JavaScript apps down to the phone via Safari. What’s interesting is what Steve Jobs left out. No Java. So, can’t run Kyte.tv’s application. Can’t run the Google Maps application I’m using on my Nokia. Can’t run something cool coming soon from eBay that I’m testing out. Can’t run Radar.net. Etc. Etc.

Soapbox represented Microsoft’s attempt kill YouTube.  It failed.  Actually, since Soapbox was pulled off the market, then reintroduced, you could say that it failed twice.  In any event, Microsoft may now take another shot at YouTube, and this time the company’s hopes rest with Silverlight.

Java has long failed to woo Internet users on the client front-end. Flash was ruling it for years; but with the recent announcement of SilverLight from Microsoft, Sun could no longer stay behind. So, they are trying again with a consumer-flavored Java – JavaFX.

A number of press releases use words like “amazing” or “revolutionary.”  Then, as you read on, you find that the corresponding product or service is duller than dust.  With Microsoft’s new Silverlight, the opposite appears to be true - a relatively modest press release accompanied this new “cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in,” and rave reviews ensued.

Microsoft's entry into the cross-browser media player category has received a warm reception from CBS Television, which will use it as part of a community-generated content project for a network of local websites.

Developers are buzzing about Microsoft's latest release, Silverlight, a video plug-in application that spans video formats, allowing them to viewed through one video channel. Though there is a secret feature to be revealed in the coming weeks, the revealing of Silverlight is already being touted as an affront to Adobe.