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Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 released

Yesterday, Microsoft published the first release of Silverlight, the first real Flash competitor in years. The first version targets PC and Mac, but a Linux effort is on the way.

Silverlight looks really powerful and has some unique features over Flash, so it is certaily worth taking a look at for Flash developers. To play with Silverlight 1.0, just head over to the Silverlight site to find all you need to develop Silverlight content: Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Expression Blend 2, Expression Design and SDKs. The site is full of content to get you started and if you feel the need for some alpha software, the 1.1 release is in Alpha and you can download that as well.

Silverlight runtimes for Mac and PC are on the Silverlight site, whereas the Linux alpha is on the Project Mono site (looks like a pre-alpha version though).

Adobe sees Silverlight as a validation of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) a term tooled by Adobe some years ago. One thing is certain - with Microsoft focusing on this area, it will get more exposure and mainstream acceptance, so in the future it'll be easier to sell your services as a RIA developer.
Click here to download or read more

Written by Jens C Brynildsen (September 06th 2007)