Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is Silverlight worth it?

I

idunn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2008
500
400
;) For some odd reason NBC requires Silverlight to view the Olympics. Should this be avoided or not?

I pose this question from previous experience with perhaps Microsoft's Media Player, or something similar, which ran not as a separate app but infested my Mac, causing problems elsewhere where formerly there had been none. I certainly want no repeat of that experience, Olympics or not.

So, please, from those that actually know, is my hesitation well founded or not?
 
S

spice weasel

macrumors 65816
Jul 25, 2003
1,255
9
Your hesitation is not founded. Silverlight is way better than Flash. It is used by lots of sites, including Netflix.

Download Silverlight 3 and enjoy the online Olympics coverage.
 
I

idunn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2008
500
400
Silverlight 4 beta?

;) Thank you for the advice. I would welcome more, and if possible with specifics.

I've heard of certain issues with Silverlight 3, would the Silverlight 4 beta be worth considering? Anyone with any experience with it?
 
elppa

elppa

macrumors 68040
Nov 26, 2003
3,233
151
Mac Silverlight client is fine. Used it for a while.

Go for it.
 
clevin

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
idunn said:
;) Thank you for the advice. I would welcome more, and if possible with specifics.

I've heard of certain issues with Silverlight 3, would the Silverlight 4 beta be worth considering? Anyone with any experience with it?
Click to expand...

what issues?
 
I

idunn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2008
500
400
Issues

;) Various things which were not well specified. One I recall was causing the browser to freeze or crash.

Anyone with experience with Silverlight 4 beta, or is version 3 considered stable enough?
 
M

Michaelgtrusa

macrumors 604
Oct 13, 2008
7,900
1,821
idunn said:
;) Thank you for the advice. I would welcome more, and if possible with specifics.

I've heard of certain issues with Silverlight 3, would the Silverlight 4 beta be worth considering? Anyone with any experience with it?
Click to expand...

Simply Google Silverlight 4 beta. You will need this if you want to use Microsoft's Silverlight Facebook client. That's very good to say the least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDjzm3SAmYw;)
 
clevin

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
idunn said:
;) Various things which were not well specified. One I recall was causing the browser to freeze or crash.

Anyone with experience with Silverlight 4 beta, or is version 3 considered stable enough?
Click to expand...

lol, install it and try it out, remove it if you dont like, since apparently nobody has any problems so far, it doesn't hurt to try. what are you worried about then? be brave. go ahead.
 
K

kainjow

Moderator emeritus
Jun 15, 2000
7,958
7
I've been using v3 for a while now with Netflix. No problems at all. I say go for it OP.
 
I

idunn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2008
500
400
Uninstall?

;) Thank you for the feedback.

However in due diligence I have spent some time trying to discover the best way to uninstall Silverlight - should it pose problems. Seemingly the best solution thus far is using some arcane terminal commands, and there is no way I'm bothering with that. Other programs offer a simple uninstall feature, that Microsoft apparently does not makes me suspicious, to say the least.

Thus, while reports of trouble-free use are welcome, unless I learn of a simple uninstall method (in the event) then this is definitely a no go. Everything else is working fine right now, and I would just as soon it stay that way.
 
clevin

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
idunn said:
Other programs offer a simple uninstall feature, that Microsoft apparently does not makes me suspicious, to say the least.
.
Click to expand...
There are tons of OSX apps, many made by apple, wont be easy to uninstall.

you are either way too suspicious, or just have a prejudice against everything MS.

If its that much hassle to convince you, I say stay where you are and forget about the whole thing. watch Olympics on TV is fine.
 
I

idunn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2008
500
400
Not as simple

;) Reports I've read indicate that just removing the plug-in will not work. Some report removing all trace of Silverlight and still having their browser seeking it as the default.

Thank you for the advice, but this isn't the kind of headache I need.
 
I

idunn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2008
500
400
K

kainjow

Moderator emeritus
Jun 15, 2000
7,958
7
Knowledge is power...

The first link provides commands to remove those files via the Terminal. That is utterly pointless as you can simply move the files to the trash via the Finder. Plus it's dangerous to use that command as you could wipe out files without even knowing it, as that command does not move files to the trash.

The second link, well I'm not sure what's going on there. That thread is almost 2 years old. The OP never gave clarification on what was really going on and was really vague. My guess is human error. A plugin is either installed or it's not. The way to be sure is to completely restart your system (or log out) after trashing it.

Anyways, just wanted to clarify that, but it seems (unfortunately) that you've already made up your mind :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom