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| Silverlight on Linux: We're in, Says Mono Founder |
| By Thom Holwerda, submitted by WillM on 2007-05-02 19:17:01 |
| "The Mono open-source project will create a Linux version of Silverlight by the end of year, said Miguel de Icaza, a Novell vice president and head of Mono. At the Mix '07 conference on Monday, Microsoft touted the ability to write Silverlight Web applications that run on Internet Explorer, Firefox and the Safari browser on Mac OS. Next up for Silverlight is an edition for mobile devices, including Windows Mobile. Asked about plans for Linux, Microsoft executives have been non-committal, saying that it will depend on demand. But de Icaza, who is attending Mix, was able to commit without hesitating." |
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| Suicide? |
| By pgquiles on 2007-05-02 19:35:31 |
| What is Icaza trying to do? Kill Linux? |
 - Score: 5 |
| RE: Suicide? |
| By GhePeU on 2007-05-02 19:41:45 |
|
What is Icaza trying to do? Kill Linux? I don't understand how improving compatibility with a technology that potentially could be used by many web sites could "kill Linux". Support for WMV files is a must and everybody blames the distros who don't support them out of the box but allowing Linux users to use the future Silverlight web applications is bad? |
| - Score: 5 |
| RE[2]: Suicide? |
| By hamster on 2007-05-02 19:47:54 |
|
"I don't understand how improving compatibility with a technology that potentially could be used by many web sites could "kill Linux". " You cant make all people happy. Trying will only get them all mad at you. |
| - Score: 5 |
| Flash Killer |
| By fretinator on 2007-05-02 19:48:19 |
| Assuming de Icaza is successful, and assuming Silverlight were to take off, there is the possibilty that Flash could be greatly trivialized. I would welcome a cross-platform toolkit that was open and available for creating Flash-like apps. My son would be very great at creating these type of games, but neither I nor he can afford Flash. I wonder, though, since this is based on the .NET framework, what kind of resource requirements will be necessary. It seems like it could be a little piggy! |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE: Flash Killer |
| By Adam S on 2007-05-02 19:50:26 |
|
Flash being trivialized is as likely as PDF being replaced by XPS... ain't gonna happen. Flash is a web standard, and Sliverlight, while cool right now, has to offer demonstrably more for a user than Flash, which has an install base of well over 90% of graphical browsers. I don't see that difference today. I think Flash is "good enough" for most people today. |
| - Score: 1 |
| RE[2]: Flash Killer |
| By fretinator on 2007-05-02 19:56:56 |
| Well, even if it could just open up another (more open) alternative I would welcome it. I realize java applets could be considered an alternative, but it seems to be too big a hill for many people to climb [I'm a java developer BTW]. I would like to see a simpler alternative toolkit for developing web animations. It would be nice for it to be available for all platforms and Free as in Liberty. |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE[2]: Flash Killer |
| By baadger on 2007-05-02 20:07:35 |
|
You forget that Microsoft bundled Macromedia Flash 6 with Windows XP. As soon as they bundle Silverlight with Vista SP1 or 2 or push it out via Microsoft Update as part of WPF/.NET 3.0 they gain instant statistical share. XP SP3 is due for release too. Is this likely? Who knows. For most people Flash still isn't an *essential* thing to have. It's only really gained critical mass to Sally and Joe because of Flash enabled video sites like Youtube and MySpace. |
| - Score: 5 |
| Good on novel boss |
| By lord-storm on 2007-05-02 20:11:55 |
|
Linux is a major platform especialy in countries with a low income. Linux mobile devices exist so there is a demand. Are sun going to come to the table as well and everyone get behind Silverlight. What about other operating systems? Now dont forget people... Microsoft revitalised iSCSI and iSCSI is a major win for linux unix alike. I just hope standards arnt moving so we do need fully concrete standards for the new web2.0 |
| - Score: 1 |
| RE[2]: Suicide? |
| By walterbyrd on 2007-05-02 20:17:18 |
|
>>allowing Linux users to use the future Silverlight web applications is bad?<< Yes, if it's part of msft's embrace, extend, extingish, strategy. Consider what Microsoft did with ActiveX. They pushed ActiveX as cross-platform, delivering an ActiveX SDK for the Mac and supporting ActiveX components in IE. Then after a while, they dropped ActiveX support, saying it was too much effort to make it work on OS X. Then after a while longer, they dropped IE too. Same with WMV. Seen Windows Media Player for the Mac? No? That's because they dropped it a while back, and killed all support for DRM-protected Windows Media on the Mac. (Instead they suggest that people use a third party QuickTime plugin that only handles unprotected WMV.) |
| - Score: 4 |
| RE[2]: Suicide? |
| By baadger on 2007-05-02 20:17:47 |
|
"WMV3" (the WMV codec that was introduced by Microsoft with WMP9 and above) only got native support on *nix/BSD in ffmpeg (and hence mplayer, xine and gstreamer) recently, and I think that was party due to the format (now known as VC-1) becoming documented for HD DVD and Bluray. Personally i'm all for FOSS implementing formats that are formally, and well, documented whether they come from Microsoft or not. I look forward to my "-silverlight" USE flag. |
| - Score: 3 |
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