Silverlight Survives With Version 5
There's been a lot of talk about the death of Silverlight  (the rival to Flash)  now that Microsoft browsers and future versions of Windows will be all about HTML 5 (that other rival to Flash).
Microsoft evangelists spent thousands of man hours and flew hundreds of thousands of miles convincing developers that Silverlight was the next big thing for the Web -- making pages as dynamic and exciting for coders as a Taylor Swift concert is for 12 year-old girls (and their dads!).
But Silverlight isn't just for the Web. You can build highly interactive apps that run inside or outside a browser, and that may be why Microsoft continues to press Silverlight forward.
The tool is on version 5, which is available now. I don't understand what makes Silverlight 5. I've never been much of a code monkey. What I did glean is Silverlight is now better at handling 3D graphics, high-end video and provides 64-bit support.
One important thing to understand is Silverlight has a purposely limited role. For instance, while you can build Win 8 classic or desktop apps, it is useless for Metro.
I think it is time for Microsoft to come clean on the precise role and future of Silverlight.
Do you care about Silverlight? Explain why or why not at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 12/14/2011 at 1:18 PM