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Microsoft unleashed its latest Web 2.0 technology, Silverlight, on the world this week, and surprised almost everyone by announcing a tie-up with open-source giants Novell to distribute a version of the framework for Linux. Silverlight has been dubbed a rival to Adobe’s Flash – reputedly installed on 90% of the world’s internet-connected PCs – but will, in fact, offer a richer feature set, including compatibility with a wide range of languages, including Ruby and Python. Compatibility with the .NET framework is slated for a second release, version 1.1, later this year. Under the agreement between the two companies, Microsoft will supply Novell with specifications for each version of Silverlight as it is released, and Novell will develop and distribute Linux versions of the framework, which will be known by the name Moonlight. We have been listening to customer feedback and the message was clear,” said Microsoft senior product manager Parimal Deshpande. “'We want Silverlight enabled on Linux.’" Deshpande was also unusually direct about timelines for Moonlight. “Six months from today is the goal,” he said. The software giant has also raised eyebrows by promising to support a wide range of browsers – including its biggest rival, Mozilla Firefox. Most developers do not expect the platform to really hit the mainstream until version 1.1 is released. That will vastly increase its programmability, by integrating with version 3.0 of the .NET framework, and will make use of Windows Presentation Foundation, the .NET graphics engine that powers Vista. The ubiquity of .NET is likely to give it a powerful advantage over Flash. Silverlight is the latest in a flurry of new platform releases from Microsoft. Windows Server 2008 is due for shipment in coming months, and version 4.0 of its Dynamics CRM product is also around the corner. Graham Taylor Sep 7, 2007 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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