Sparkle Beta available now

This week's big buzz was the release of the Beta version of Microsoft Sparkle. What is Sparkle and is it a Flash killer?

We knew it would come - eWeek and other media asked this week "Microsoft Sparkle: is it a Flash Killer?" . From what we've seen of Sparkle, it's not that yet, but it's surely the next big thing in development for the Microsoft Platform. Thus far, technologies such as Flash and Java has had a longer lifespan than the average MS technology. Let's hope WinFX lasts longer than former MS platforms.

Sparkle is based around the WinFX framework. Microsoft has promised to release a limited version of WinFX for Mac and other platforms, but will this give them the ubiquity that Flash has? We don't think so. Microsoft has a poor track record on the Mac platform (with a great exception in their line of Office products) not to mention their near zero track record on platforms such as Linux. When Apple announced Safari as a better and way less buggy browser alternative, Microsoft cancelled all further development of IE for the Mac. Just recently, Microsoft threw in the towel when it comes to Windows Media on the Mac. The Mac version of the player has always suffered from bugs, so it was hardly usable at all. Compare that to Flash video that plays back perfectly across Mac, PC and even Linux.

Microsoft has the money to push technology (and developers). In 3-5 years, Sparkle will be widespread enough for using it for many tasks other than application building (for which it will be great from day 1). During those years, Flex will grow and gain a wider audience as well.

We are certain that Sparkle and WinFX will be a great addition to the Windows toolset, but we just don't see this as a Flash Killer just yet. It's great fun to play with the beta though, so go to Channel9, view the video with former Flash hero Manuel Clemens and play with the beta.
Click to view video/download Sparkle Beta

 

 

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