When Silverlight first arrived, I think we were all somewhat unsure exactly how Microsoft planned to topple Flash as the king of rich interactive online applications. Over the past couple of years Silverlight has failed to make the impact I expect Microsoft were dreaming of, and a recent interview with Bob Muglia seems to suggest a shift in position on the future of Silverlight.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t always cynical about Silverlight. I was shipped off to Seattle for training on Silverlight, working with pre-release versions of Silverlight 2. At that time I felt privileged to play around with some genuinely exciting technology, working with nightly builds of the new platform. I was all geared up to oversee exciting new projects, which would all be Flash killers. But two years later these projects never really materialised. We never have clients approaching us to use Silverlight over any other technology, and it’s difficult to argue that a project should use a technology that only 50% of people have installed. I still feel that Silverlight has just not ever arrived.

So, Bob Muglia’s interview (which has of course since been defended and ‘clarified’) suggests to me that Microsoft is trying to reposition itself subtly. I don’t think incorrectly though. I always felt that Silverlight was over-hyped, and mis-sold. After my training I always thought that Silverlight would be great for creating online applications, but wasn’t an exact replacement for Flash. They each have their strengths. Also, with HTML5 on the horizon Silverlight was never going to be the best option for all scenarios on all platforms. Microsoft seem to be admitting that they’ll never get it working on all shapes and sizes of device that access the Internet, and surely that is the case. Silverlight will be one option for developing rich online applications, and is like to remaing a strong choice for data rich applications. I don’t think it’s dead quite yet! Just as Flash will remain for sometime yet a good choice for game development and many applications. It actually cheers me up greatly when Microsoft (or any other large technology firm) talk sense. Fortunately I think Microsoft seems to be doing so more and more these days, after let’s be honest, not a great track record!

Richard Caudle - Senior Developer