Microsoft Silverlight 4 vs. Adobe Flash 10.1

superapecommando writes "The richest RIA platforms today (and for the foreseeable future) come from clashing titans Adobe and Microsoft, whose Flash and Silverlight platforms both combine excellent tools for developers and designers, broad client support, strong support for server-side technologies, digital rights management capabilities, and the ability to satisfy use cases as varied as enterprise dashboards, live video streaming, and online games. And each has spawned new updates, to Flash 10.1/AIR 2 and Silverlight 4 respectively, which put them on a near-level playing field. Which one should you choose?"

Comments

Re:To appease the most visitors with ease

[jijacob]

Silverlight has absolutely abysmal support on Linux. Seems like the only Silverlight applications that are actually publicly use stuff not included in Moonlight. Flash may use what seems like an unnecessary amount of CPU, but at least it works. Booting a VM just to watch online video hardly seems worth it when there are other easier (less legal) alternatives.

Re:2022? What kind of FUD BS is that?

[Bogtha]

Between HTML 4 being published and HTML 5's beginnings, the W3C changed their process. What used to be called a Recommendation (the level HTML 4 reached) is now called Candidate Recommendation. In order for a specification to reach Recommendation status now, it has to have two interoperable implementations. That means waiting for browsers to fully implement it in a reasonably bug-free way. HTML 4 didn't have that final barrier to overcome before it was published as a final recommendation, but HTML 5 does. That's why the final publication date is so far off. HTML 5 is expected to reach Candidate Recommendation status - the level of maturity that was required of HTML 4 before it was considered "finished" - in 2012. So if you are comparing HTML 5's maturity to HTML 4's, then 2012 is the date you should be using for HTML 5, not 2022.

Re:Absolutely

[berzerke]

But then flash does run on Linux, albiet poorly compared to Windows, and silverlight does not. I have to keep a windows box around just for Netflix. And I've already tried moonlight and Netflix refuses to touch it.