Microsoft Silverlight is a XAML based WPF technology for vector graphics, video, design, and development of applications for the desktop, as well as the web. It is cross-browser, cross-platform browser plug-in that is less than 2 megabyte in size! It will change the web as we know it, finally creating a feasible, professional platform for building the most rich user experience websites out there. Silverlight is not a competitor to Flash as some would have you believe. In fact, Silverlight and Flash work extremely well together! Here are the top 10 Reasons Silverlight will change the web!
- Highest Quality Video Experience
Prepare to see some of the best quality videos you have seen in your life, all embedded in highly graphical websites. The same research and technology that was used for VC-1, the codec that powers BluRay and HD DVD, is used by Microsoft today with its streaming media technologies. Video overlays, custom menus, all become possible! - Cross-Platform, Cross-Browser
Finally build web applications that work on any browser, and on any operating system. At release, Silverlight will work with Mac as well as Windows! The Mono project has also already promised support for Linux! - Developers and Graphic Designers can play together!
Developers familiar with Visual Studio, Microsoft.net will be able to develop amazing Silverlight applications very quickly, and they will work on Mac’s and Windows. Developers will finally be able to strictly focus on the back end of the application core, while leaving the visuals to the Graphic Design team using the power of XAML. - Cheaper
Silverlight is now the most inexpensive way to stream video files over the internet at the best quality possible. Licensing is dead simple, all you need is IIS in Windows Server, and you’re done. Currently if you want to stream Flash video files, you would need to purchase Flash Media Server and license a few components. - Support for 3rd Party Languages
using the power of the new Dynamic Language Runtime, developers will now be able to use Ruby, Python, and EcmaScript! This means a Ruby developer can develop Silverlight applications, and leverage the .net Framework! - Cross-Platform, Cross-Browser Remote Debugging
If you are in the need to debug an application running on a Mac, no problem! You can now set breakpoints, step into/over code, have immediate windows, and all that other good stuff that Visual Studio provides. - The best development environment on the planet
Visual Studio is an award winning development platform! As it continues to constantly evolve, so will Silverlight! - Built to allow Mashups
Microsoft spent a lot of time enabling Silverlight to easily consume web services, and easily consume various services and data from around the web. Silverlight supports LINQ and LINQ-to-XML. All of this data can be easily accessed via RSS, POX, REST, and JSON. - Silverlight offers copy protection
Have you noticed how easy it is to download YouTube videos to your computer, and save them for later viewing (If not, read here.)? Silverlight will finally have the features enabling content providers complete control over their rich media content! Streaming television, new indie broadcast stations, all will now be possible! - Extreme Speed
There is a dramatic improvement in speed for AJAX-enabled websites that begin to use Silverlight, leveraging the Microsoft .net framework.
Silverlight is the biggest launch since Microsoft .net 1.0. My guess is a lot of people will take it as a Flash clone, and not understand its true power until it takes over the web. This is not a Flash clone at all. This is the new web development platform for a whole new era of Web Applications.
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I dont think that Silverlight can compete with Flash/Flex/Appolo and Java. Mono is not popular in Linux world and is not ready for production so Silverlight is not cross platform.