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Silverlight 5 Released
New submitter CaptSlaq sends word that Silverlight 5 has been released. Microsoft has not revealed whether it will be the last version.
"New features in Silverlight 5 include Hardware Decode of H.264 media, which provides a significant performance improvement with decoding of unprotected content using the GPU; Postscript Vector Printing to improve output quality and file size; and an improved graphics stack with 3D support that uses the XNA API on the Windows platform to gain low-level access to the GPU for drawing vertex shaders and low-level 3D primitives. In addition, Silverlight 5 extends the ‘Trusted Application’ model to the browser for the first time. These features, when enabled via a group policy registry key and an application certificate, mean users won’t need to leave the browser to perform complex tasks such as multiple window support, full trust support in browser including COM and file system access, in browser HTML hosting within Silverlight, and P/Invoke support for existing native code to be run directly from Silverlight."
and Silverlight will go the way of mobile Flash. Plug-ins simply must die for the web to thrive in the future.
Is the intent to support a whole desktop environment inside the browser?
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
No, they didn't. The death of SL is all speculation. MS has never officially said they're dropping it, although everybody thinks they will given their new pro-HTML5 direction.
...why?
No incumbents, not no where, not no how.
Vote them out every term.
Is this going to break Netflix again?
throw the baby out. The bathwater is cold
It's sandboxed and doesn't run native code. It's more like Java applets.
The multi-ton elephant in the room is Netflix.
You don't know anyone that streams Netflix on their computer?
My UID is prime... is yours?
The BI platform used by Dundas Data Visualization, Dundas Dashboard, is in Silverlight. I use it on a daily basis. However, they are now offering HTML5 as well. But having a dashboard designer, in the web with a very rich experience, is one example where Silverlight has an advantage. But of course, as HTML5 improves/adopts, that advantage is going away, making plug-ins no longer needed.
I was asked to evaluate a website (for a large and well known company) only 3 days ago with a view to "taking it over".
Let's say my review was less than favourable when I found that if you didn't have silverlight you were not able to use the site, the home page simply told you that without silverlight you could not continue to use the normal site and pushed you to a crappy antiquated mobile phone design of the site as an alternative.
And the reason they had silverlight as a requirement? As best I could tell it was because they had bad low resolution videos in the background of some pages.
Even with silverlight enabled, the site was disastrously slow, not to mention unnavigable by search engines (not even real URLs for products etc).
Like I told them, who ever had the good idea to make that site, should never be allowed to have any more good ideas.
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Not any more. The whole point of P/Invoke is to run native code which won't be sandboxed.
The summary says that there is a registry key needed to be set, and the app will need a certificate. This means there wont be drive-by operations that are not sandboxed. Anything that uses P/Invoke has to be given permission to run from outside the browser. This means that any Silverlight app the general public could run will still be sandboxed. Please read things before spreading FUD.
You don't know anyone that streams Netflix on their computer?
That's not so hard to imagine. Netflix doesn't have much penetration outside the US -- they don't expand to Europe until 2012, they just expanded to Latin America in September, and has been in Canada for only a year. I don't know about Latin America, but the Canadian selection is exceedingly poor when compared to that of the US. From what I could see scanning through recently, it appears that most of the selection is direct-to-DVD stuff that I've never heard of.
Here in Canada, I know exactly 0 people using Netflix. Some people I know are starting to ask me about it (mostly as more and more DVD video rental stores close down -- in my parents town, Blockbuster was the only choice, and now that they're gone, they have nothing), but until they improve their selection here to include more movies and shows people have actually heard of, I suspect the number of users to remain low
(It doesn't help that our major ISPs have bought most of the TV stations in the country now, and don't want competition from online networks like Netflix. As such, they've been bringing in pretty strict monthly download limits in some areas of the country that discourage people from even trying such services in the first place. I'd love nothing more than to get rid of our cable TV subscription and use nothing but streamed/downloaded content from a provider such as Netflix or iTunes. My wife and I are getting closer to that goal, but most people I know are far from that goal).
Yaz.
a significant performance improvement with decoding of unprotected content using the GPU
So it's great for everything you don't use Silverlight for.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
It's yet another attack surface, and what's the point? Silverlight is hardly some uber-successful technology, and most developers want to get out of the hell produced by these kinds frameworks.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
its actually fairly common for internal applications in big companies, especially finance, legal, etc.
On the open internet though? Nope.
oh, light you say.... OK then.
839*929
MS has never officially said they're dropping it, although everybody thinks they will given their new pro-HTML5 direction.
And yet you can write Metro-style apps in XAML+.Net, and XAML+.Net is basically the definition of Silverlight. The branding might disappear, but it sounds like the technologies are going to be baked right into future versions of Windows (which makes a lot more sense than making everyone download them, if you ask me).
Breakfast served all day!
Now, from the people who brought you the Active-X security hole, we have a new Silverlight-based security hole.
1. Buy Authenticode code-signing certificate.
2. Create web site with hostile code running under Silverlight.
3. Spam to get website trafffic.
4. User visits site with IE, Silverlight content runs, hostile code gets installed.
5. PROFIT!
Microsoft's model of "trusted code" doesn't involve anybody actually testing or looking at the code.
It did no good, of course, but I wrote an e-mail to the State of Minnesota complaining about the Minnesota Revenue "Where's My Refund" site. I can't think of any legitimate reason for a site like this to use Silverlight (or Flash or any other plugin). Here was my message:
Here was the ridiculous response:
This was in 2010, and of course, the same application is still in place.
most developers want to get out of the hell produced by these kinds frameworks.
Sadly not the ones I work with. We sent a developer to asp.net training and he came back saying he was being left behind. He was talking about how silverlight was the future. The trainer brain washed him good.
I don't have any mod points or I would, but you have actual insightful information unlike the parent post.
As best I could tell it was because they had bad low resolution videos in the background of some pages.
This is a huge WTF regadless of technology used to enable it - even if it were an animated GIF, say.
According to this: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifean45#sl5
Silverlight 5 will be supported for 10 years. Not many software vendors are prepared to do that.
Sounds to me like less of a problem with Silverlight and more of a problem with the designer's choice to run the entire thing inside of a plugin.
Sky in the UK requires it for online viewing so I use it (on the Mac too).
It's possible to support two products at once. Adobe still sells Director, along with Flash. Heck, they also sell Dreamweaver for HTML5 development.
Now Microsoft just needs an HTML5/XAML development environment that isn't a slow, bloated piece of junk like Expression.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
RAGE!! Grrr!!! So you think HTML5 is god? Did you reply to the wrong comment? Were you having a rage-conversation in your head when you replied to my comment? It baffles mes that you got all of that from my comment, which when it comes down to it states I agree with the insightful comment above, and definitely not your orignal and rather myopic comment.
And great! Since you've spewed your fanaticism at me, I'll bite... So you're under the assumption that an optional plug-in is exclusionary? Really? When the alternative for a very long time has been the limitations and incompatibilities of browsers and platforms; which btw has not changed. Plug-ins have been a consistent bridge that have helped to progress the web beyond just Hyper Text Markup and browser progressing a slug's pace and rarely being on the same page -- and btw, how do you think Apple plays back HTML5 video on their devices? It's via plug-in called Quicktime.
It's painfully obvious that those that want to exclude choice like a plug-in, are rather naive to the web's past, and in some cases not too bright; and always myopic.
How retarded is that delay (pun not intended)? Even Flash has had that for a while.
Yes I think html5 is god... despite my entire topic sentence saying the opposite. A more reasonable question to you is, does the yeast you harvest off Mr Gate`s cock create enough bread too feed you and your mom/girlfriend ? Lemons knows
Why, does the adaption of HTML5 signal curtains for Silverlight?
Most developers find something simple that works for them and never bother to look any further. Silverlight is one of the best options there is for line of business apps in the enterprise.
Not everything has to be out on the Internet on some trendy retail shop or Web 2.0 site to be successful in other scenarios.
Silverlight isn't the "future" per se, but if you're developing enterprise applications it can be one of the best solutions.
He basically told you to piss off. That's because your mail was meaningless. There are close to 0% of people who don't have access to a Windows machine to login to the site. Your obscure choice of operating system shouldn't guide their decisions.
Personally I wouldn't use Silverlight for a site like that either, but probably the reason they did is it's easier to develop and support in Silverlight.
I'm sure Netflix has hedged their bet on Silverlight considering instant watch is their core business or at least that's what they foresee their core business becoming.