Microsoft Silverlight Supports Mac

[SiliconAddict]

It's actually quite good on OS X unlike Flash (total garbage).


Bingo, I'm with you on that one.


BAD IDEA. That's what happened to Bell and then they became more powerful with all the baby Bells.

I wouldn't call them more powerful. The only power they have at this point is because of piss poor government oversight through the FCC. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtFtcp4mNzA
The two have NOTHING to do with each other. Do you even remember the days of Ma Bell? the crap they could get away with back then isn't even possible any more.

I'm no MS fanboy either but calling Vista a bust makes all Apple users look like idiots.

Vista has already had faster sales than XP and is setting records for new OS adoption from windows users.

You want to know why they have faster sales? Simple. MS is nudging companies to stop carrying it. For a period Dell only had XP available on corp systems. They just recently switched back to XP as an option because of the outcry from users. I am at people's homes every day (Dell warrantee work.) of the week doing repair work on people's systems. I would say 1 in 10 systems has Vista on it. I ask people what they think of it. Most are not happy. I had someone today buy a ad\spyware software package from Best buy last week. Lo and behold it doesn't work with Vista. I've getting people who are asking me if its possible to downgrade. I kid you not. People are NOT happy with vista and those who are, are either geeks who know how to tweak the crap out of Vista or are people who just surf the net, check e-mail, and spend 10 minutes a day on the system.
Vista isn't a bust. Far from it. However lets not try and toss chocolate sauce on a turd. In a few years it will get better. right now its a half baked OS. Sprinkle SP1 on it, throw it back in the oven for 6 months and lets see where things are in summer '08.

 

[hplus]

Cross platform for several months

the most remarkable aspect of the demo was Microsoft's commitment to make the platform "open" and "interoperable" with Mac support

It's been done before. Tout cross platform up front, then slowly choke the stepchildren.

 

[macnews]

If it can't be authored on a mac, the long term prospects of the player staying cross platform and fully featured are slim.

 

[aafuss1]

Expression-which has a XAML authoring tool is Windows-only, even though Expression Media runs on Macs (renamed iView)-so you'll have to use Boot Camp,Parallels or VMWare

 

[aussie_geek]

meh - another attempt by redmond to further microsoftize the computer industry . flash, quicktime and java are there. no need for more. it seems that ms are really having difficulty comming up with great new products these days - ( for the last 7 years actually) .

aussie_geek

 

[jonaseriksson]

Wow, I really like how this thread is full of "I obviously didn't take the time to read into what Silverlight is, but it sure sucks"-people. Do you realize how just how far superior Silverlight is when it comes to performance and possibilities (to Flash and Ajax)?

Just wait and watch as developers start leveraging their VB, C# skills to develop rich web applications. Or when people start noticing that Silverlight runs Javascript faster than any other RE.

 

[Evangelion]

I'm no MS fanboy either but calling Vista a bust makes all Apple users look like idiots.

Vista has already had faster sales than XP and is setting records for new OS adoption from windows users.

Vista is selling because just about every PC comes preloaded with it. And why is it selling better than XP did? Because more PC's are sold today than were sold when XP was released. What would be interesting to know is the retail-sales of Vista. Those would be more telling as to how badly people want it. And it seems that Vistas retail-sales are nothing to write home about.

This is not how it was with Windows 95, when people rushed to buy it. People are NOT rushing to buy Vista. They are simply buying PC's as they would do in any case, and those PC's just happen to come with Vista.

 

[hulugu]

All I can say is:

It's a trap!

 

[hulugu]

Wow, I really like how this thread is full of "I obviously didn't take the time to read into what Silverlight is, but it sure sucks"-people. Do you realize how just how far superior Silverlight is when it comes to performance and possibilities (to Flash and Ajax)?

Just wait and watch as developers start leveraging their VB, C# skills to develop rich web applications. Or when people start noticing that Silverlight runs Javascript faster than any other RE.

It might be great, it might the "coolest thing evar!" but Microsoft's previous attempts to embrace and then extinguish makes me less than enthusiastic about such a product. Do I really want to be beholden to Microsoft to consistently deliver a Mac-version of their software that it's either six months late or missing certain features? I don't trust Microsoft enough to give them any more leverage over Apple than they already have with Microsoft Office, I just don't see the point of giving those guys a stick to hit me—or the Linux guys—over the head with.

 

[threesixty360]

From a developers point of view, Silverlight offers a few things that Flash doesn’t. Silverlight XAML can be fully indexed by search engines. Something that Flash cant do and is why Flash has always been cursed by the CSS/HTML crowd. It’s also why AJAX has gained a footing.

Nobody (and I mean NOBODY) has made a better development suite than MicroSoft. That means a lot. Flash’s IDE is crap (especially on the MAC, how slow is it …). So from a comfort point of view I would rather develop in Visual Studio then anything else.

Flash requires a separate mind set than working with html. They don’t integrate well together. Flash basically plays video’s/graphics in a section of your web page. Each Flash section doesn’t intergrate directly with another html section. Silverlight has a seamless intergration with your standard html page. That’s a big plus as well.

So for a lot of developers it’s going to be far easier to add a quick graphic effect in there html page using XAML/Silverlight than it is going to be using Flash. I think a great deal of developers are going to think .. ok it works on Mac as well, why not use this.

Flash is more refined and ultimately more powerful at the moment, but 80% of Flash work isn’t really “wizzy” stuff, so I think for that 80% they may well find using Silverlight easier..

 

[PCMacUser]

meh - another attempt by redmond to further microsoftize the computer industry . flash, quicktime and java are there. no need for more. it seems that ms are really having difficulty comming up with great new products these days - ( for the last 7 years actually) .

aussie_geek

Actually Microsoft have been releasing a lot of new products over the last 7 years. It's just that they are more focussed on the corporate market than the retail sector. Easy examples would be Sharepoint and their CRM software. SMS has been out for a while now, and has many benefits in medium to large companies.

When you are in the IT industry you can see what contribution they really make.

 

[Evangelion]

Wow, I really like how this thread is full of "I obviously didn't take the time to read into what Silverlight is, but it sure sucks"-people. Do you realize how just how far superior Silverlight is when it comes to performance and possibilities (to Flash and Ajax)?

I'm sorry, but after getting screwed by MS over and over and over again, I'm grown to be VERY skeptical about anything that they decide to offer. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. And history shows us that MS has always stabbed their partners in the back. MS has always screwed the consumers and partners. And they haven't done that once or twice, they do it again, and again and again.

Want a list? Here's few:

OpenGL. Microsoft and SGI started working on a successor to OpenGL. Then Microsoft pulled the plug, and soon afterwards they came out with Direct3D, a Windows-only tech.

IBM and OS/2. 'Nuff said

"Open" Office-documents? So we have the OASIS-specification that specifies a truly open office-format that can be used by several different office-suites. And it really is open. MS has lobbied hard against anyone who intents to move to OASIS, and the came up with their own "open" specification. But their spec contaisn bit and pieces of ancient office-specs that are closed. So it's open on the surface, but in reality it's closed.

Netscape and "cutting off air-supply"?

PlaysforSure and Zune? MS just screwed over a lot of partners there.

Sendo. Go read that, it makes for an interesting read.

And I'm just scratching the surface here.

Seriously: Doing business with Microsoft is simply not smart. Relying on their technologies is simply not smart. They have a LONG trail of blood behind them, and that blood is from partners and customers who have been stabbed in the back by Microsoft. It really does make sense to steer clear from Microsoft-tech like this just by the grounds that it's from Microsoft. They have screwed us over too often, and I say that the buck stops here. It's time to draw a line in the sand and say "Microsoft: Go f*ck yourself".

 

[Dolorian]

I installed it but then I go to the Microsoft Silverlight page to view some demo and it tells me that I need to download it?

 

[SPUY767]

luckily, things like DirectX have no direct end-user benefit ... riiiiiiggght...

Oh, my mistake, I was made to understand that OpenGL did everything that DX did, in a faster, less resource intensive, multi-core capable way. Albiet, OpenGL is more difficult to program in because MS isn't holding your hand like a lost schoolgirl, but it is more capable.

 

[SPUY767]

Using that definition, Windows 2000 Workstation, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server were all little busts.

I wish I could fail that well. I'd be rich.

The least of Vista's problems are lack of adoption in the business market. The hotel I manage still uses 2k on all its workstations, and XP is an uncontested success, in terms of sales. Vista users I have spoken with tell me that they hate it. Some with ultimate who have the bare minimum hardware specs say that it is incredibly slow. I have been asked by about fifteen people I know to install XP on their system cause they can't deal with vista any longer. I have no problem using Vista, it is a bit sluggish at times on mid-grade hardware, but it runs peachily on my Mac Pro whose specs obviously slaughter that of most PC's.

 

[bdj21ya]

This needs to be killed early....

Its just another MS attempt to kill off rival standards - be it Flash, GoogleVideo, YouTube, Quicktime etc etc.

Avoid like the plague, or we will all suffer later....

I can see some merit to your argument, given MS's behavior with WMP, IE, and the like, as well as the lack of a OS X development client.

However, if Netflix implements this for OS X before Apple comes out with a rental/subscription service, I'm afraid I'll have to be signing up immediately.

 

[Qunchuy]

Silverlight, formerly code-named "Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere,"

Does anyone else think this looks a little backwards? Usually it's the code name which has the catchy nondescript nature, and the actual product name tends to say what it is.

 

[Analog Kid]

Wow, I really like how this thread is full of "I obviously didn't take the time to read into what Silverlight is, but it sure sucks"-people. Do you realize how just how far superior Silverlight is when it comes to performance and possibilities (to Flash and Ajax)?

Just wait and watch as developers start leveraging their VB, C# skills to develop rich web applications. Or when people start noticing that Silverlight runs Javascript faster than any other RE.

I've read far enough into it to know that it's a Microsoft product and that they're claiming they're going to change their ways and play nice with others. I know that Microsoft has a very long history of over-inflating their claims of technology advances, and an equally long history of improperly resolving conflicts of interest when it comes to their cash cows.

I also know that developers leveraging two MS specific languages for web based applications that are supposed to be platform agnostic does not bode well for the future of my online experience.

If my attitude confuses you, consider it a lesson in the value of reputation and trust in the marketplace. This could be the greatest thing since sliced bread and I'd avoid it because I don't trust the company providing it-- not a lack of trust due to religious zealotry, but a lack of trust based on a long track record emphasized by a recent acceleration in bad behavior.

 

[NaMo4184]

Does anyone else think this looks a little backwards? Usually it's the code name which has the catchy nondescript nature, and the actual product name tends to say what it is.

I think the naming scheme is from microsoft trying to be hip.

 

[localoid]

Wow, I really like how this thread is full of "I obviously didn't take the time to read into what Silverlight is, but it sure sucks"-people. Do you realize how just how far superior Silverlight is when it comes to performance and possibilities (to Flash and Ajax)?

Just wait and watch as developers start leveraging their VB, C# skills to develop rich web applications. Or when people start noticing that Silverlight runs Javascript faster than any other RE.

I'm sure the geniuses in-charge @ Redmond will soon figure out ways of turning it into a bloated pig, of unholy abomination proportions, to better match the rest of the Microsoft idiot proof(1) software "solutions"...

(1) "Make it idiot proof. How idiot proof? Idiot proof to the point that only idiots would want to use it! Now that's -- market share!"

 

[digitalbiker]

I have no problem using Vista, it is a bit sluggish at times on mid-grade hardware, but it runs peachily on my Mac Pro whose specs obviously slaughter that of most PC's.

Are you running Vista in Parallels or by boot camp?

Just curious because I need to set up a new Mac Pro to also run Vista and I was curious as to Vista's performance in either environment.

 

[Dolorian]

Just curious because I need to set up a new Mac Pro to also run Vista and I was curious as to Vista's performance in either environment.

I think you will be better off using BootCamp for Vista. The video card that Parallels emulates is limited to 32mb and 2D graphics, so Vista will run bad in it. With BootCamp you get to use your real video card.


Evo

 

[whooleytoo]

This is perhaps a predictable response, but completely ignores what the technology is and why Microsoft is developing it. As an alternative to Flash, Microsoft must support all platforms and continue to do so or the technology will loose it's ability to compete. As long as Flash is cross platform compatible, Silverlight will be as well.

Remember Java? 100% cross-platform Java?

Yet, strangely, Microsoft's VM wasn't 100% compatible with Sun's. And Microsoft struck a deal with Apple in '97 that Apple would work together with Microsoft to make their VMs more compatible, rather than have Apple work closer with Sun. With Java support fragmented, Java support and use has waned on the Mac, and .Net dominates PC development.

In short, Microsoft won, and succeeded in diminishing the impact of a technology which could, ultimately, have wrestled its control of the desktop market away from it. That was '97, cue '07; and the danger to Microsoft is the move towards various web-applications and Adobe have a decided lead here. Suddenly Microsoft is promising the world again.. bait and switch.

 

[dgdosen]

I doubt it

The real question is: Will it run on an iPhone?

But it will run on a smart phone... Which is cool, if you buy into it.

 

[dgdosen]

Read about it...

If it can't be authored on a mac, the long term prospects of the player staying cross platform and fully featured are slim.

It's not just a player, it's a platform. That's pretty powerful if you think about it. It's a mini CLR:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/04/30/silverlight-the-web-just-got-richer/
or
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/silverlight/default.aspx

I develop in .Net, and think the future of using that knowledge to build apps that can run cross platform as well have a level of richness in them is pretty cool.

It's not something that Microsoft can start then stop. I't like letting a genie out of a bottle. They could try to carge for it, but then the world can scream bloody murder...