Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

dubiousmike --

If you don't "understand what all the fuss is", then I respectfully submit that you haven't fully read or do not fully appreciate what has been said here. Without trying to sound flippant, one adage comes immediately to mind:

Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

When MS gets involved in something, there is an ulterior motive in play. ...and, with rare (if any!) exception, it does not bode well for the maintenance of (industry) standards. It is, most decidedly, not a good thing when MS decides to get involved.

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

I agree completely. Microsoft is the textbook example of a company using its monopoly to create its own twisted "standards" with which only their own software works half-decently with. Microsoft is the bane of interoperability, and time-proven corrupter of standards. Just look at the purposely misleadingly named OOXML, a perversion of ODF, MS SQL a proprietary version of MySQL, and C# a Windows-only version of C++.

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

To those still fearing Microsoft domination, I have two words:

Microsoft Bob.

Best post on the subject IMO.

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

The bottom line is that whether they adapt to the standards you want them to or not, adding new consumer friendly technology support into the ITs will make them more usable to the average Joe and thus seeing Nokia sell more of them. The great thing about a tablet is that you can decide what you want on it and what you don't. Why is choice a bad thing? If you don't like Silverlight, don't use it. If you don't want to make use of sites and content that uses Silverlight, then don't.

Basically, your response to me is that your opinion is that you don't like Microsoft products, their style of coding and the same business tactics that most companies try and fail at. While that's your opinion, it still doesn't mean that having the choice to use it on a tablet is bad.

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

Yes. Like you can choose to have a Novell fileserver, or choose to have Netscape as your default (and only) browser, today.

See... it's not the presence of a choice that bothers me -- it's the inevitable lack of choice once MS gets their claws sunk in enough, further down the road.

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

I hope Silverlight comes soon... mlb.com has switched to Silverlight from Flash, so if you want to watch the live games on your IT, you need Silverlight.

And they even flubbed up audio streaming... it's an mms/asx Windows Media stream, and I am having no luck whatsoever getting it to work on my tablet. :(

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

Methinks some do protest too much.

Microsoft has failed at global domination more often than they have succeeded. Computing history is littered with their errors (they almost slept through the advent of the Web). And yes, they have an agenda-- what company doesn't? Even OSS devotees have one (or several).

Yes, Microsoft has killed technologies-- including a very advanced database I beta tested years ago, the unique features of which have still not made it to market.

But even given their inglorious history, I can't see Microsoft killing any choices here. The odds are, in fact, that Silverlight will be another failure. And even if it isn't, well, it will likely turn out to be another of those niche services that captures a fragment of the available market. I see the Flash/Silverlight "battle" as simlar to the ASP/JSP/PHP battle... and did the consumers lose there? Nope. Just more choice.

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

Frack, I was at the Launch party for Server Micosoft "Heroes" {Server 2K8, Visual Studios 2k8 and SQL Server 2K8} yesterday but my free copy of Silverlight was not missing from my pack :/

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

I will be attending the Dallas one-- offtopic, but was it worth the day?

Re: Microsoft Silverlight Coming to the Internet Tablet
 

Yes if is a paid day off work {was only 2 hours long and I got the whole day off}.
They gave out "free*" copies of Vista {32bit only}, Server, Visual Studio & SQL Dev 2K8. I missed out of the a copy of Silverlight somehow...., :/


*=It was advertised as a Free full version but is really just a 1 years trial :/

But if is your own time, I would not waste it, unless you want the software which case I just turn up get your "feed-back forum" and collect the software and leave.