Microsoft was stupid, in the first place, to essentially "outsource" Silverlight support on Linux. Did Adobe outsource Flash support on Linux?

Linux is a reality! If Microsoft really wants to see the use of Silverlight spread, they need to swallow their pride and make it work well (and support it) on Linux.

That being said, I think Adobe & Microsoft are stupid, to continue to force their proprietary web technology down people's throats (Adobe less so, since they were a godsend, at one point in time, when there weren't good web standards).

Adobe! Microsoft! Put your energy behind HTML5, WebGL & all the other great stuff coming down the pipe. If you build quality, innovative apps, based on open standards, people will pay for them!

"Does Silverlight matter?"

Fixed that for you.

Netflix. On Linux. I could finally get rid of my windows partition. That's really the only reason it matters to me. Or Netflix could switch to a more inclusive player.

It is fair when HTML5 is on IE, and the playing field is level.

Chrome Frame is available now, and it allows IE to play HTML5 video, and the VLC player browser plug-in.

So if SilverLight is to be installed on Linux browsers, everyone can understand why HTML5 OGG-video on IE, using Chrome Frame is fair.

The media playing-field can be level.

"Microsoft is now simply providing a subset of users (that being Moblin users) with yet another media choice."

Yeah, big thanks and hurray to Microsoft for bringing more choice for Linux users! (not really)

You can read a good comment about Linux and choice here:
http://blogs.gnome.org/hughsie/2009/09/23/linux-is-about-choice/comment-page-1/#comment-3068

"Still, the primary issue is one of choice. Silverlight on Linux, whether it's from MIcrosoft or Moonlight from Novell offers Linux users the opportunity to view Silverlight content if they so choose."

Are you seriously saying, that when Microsoft is making the field of on-line video more fragmented with one more proprietary format that is aimed at nothing else but give more control to Microsoft, we should applaud the company for doing this? This has nothing to do with choice for the users. If the use of Silverlight spreads wider in the future, the users are guaranteed not to have more choice and control of their computing experience. Of course people must be offered something to take the bate. It doesn't have to be much, a little bling is enough, because people are not able to see what they will be losing in the future - which is freedom and (real) choice.

Linux sucks. GPL is utterly ridicules and a hindrance. Silverlight as of 3.0 is an exciting technology. You write web apps in a manner sinilar to wrting WPF desktop apps. When 4.0 comes out, Flash is going to lose major market share. See the light!

Good one, Sam Fagurino...nice troll...

All I have to say about MS...I'll finally be rid of them soon enough, at home. I have three workstations, two running linux and one windows. My 1U server is running linux. My router is reflashed with linux...my PVR settop is runnning a version of linux, and when I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone....linux!

The only reason for the 1 winbox is that I unfortunately own a winprinter...but that will be resolved shortly.

I use XP/W2K3 at work cause the government is retarded...but my standalone dev box is running....you guessed it...linux.

So I can say that you can load up your cute little vis studio and drag and drop all the punkin little widgets you like in silverlight or whatever...but you won't be serving any content to me or mine! I'll kindly stick with flash and the plethora of open standards.

To Sam not-so-wise,

Windows Sucks. Come to think of it every OS sucks. GPL is a hindrance if you want to take someone else's work and use it as a base for your own. You have several choices. 1) write your own library 2) buy a library written by someone else or 3) use a GPL library and give your work away for free.

It is only a problem if you don't want to buy a library or see the best or only library is GPL. You can't just take it and write a commercial program with it. To bad. To commercial interests who want to sell software, GPL software that is not dual licensed DOES NOT EXIST. Just as to me, a freelance programmer with a small budget, commercial libraries that cost money DO NOT EXIST. I should not pirate, they should not take GPL work and put it in their software.

Within 6 months of a new version of flash coming out it has 98.5% market penetration. Silverlight in all of its incarnations has been out for 3 years and has 15% to 20% at best. They are losing customers like MLB who went from flash to Silverlight and ... back to flash. What do they know about Silverlight and it's awesome tools? That in real life with all of flash shortcomings and all of Silverlights advantages, at the end of the day Flash still wins. Note: MLB did not wait for the new hotness that will be Silverlight 4.0 they went back to Flash. And rest assured, Microsoft did their best to keep them.

Also I predict that 18 months after Silverlight 4 is out, Microsoft will still not have doubled the install base from where it is today of 15% to 20%.

It's all about the mobile industry entering the PC industry. ARMs are powerful enought to browse the web and execute and spreadsheet. Yes, they are slower, but their power saving advantage makes them much more confortable to use for the average user.

Intel is forced to go down to compete and defend against ARM. That means, using free-licence OSes like Linux. Still, they don't want to hurt Microsoft and try to make *light available to linux users as a way to help Microsoft gain internet-share. But that's imposible since mobile ARM manufacturers (Nokia, Blackberry, Motorola, Samsung, LG, ... ) don't bother about Microsoft. Let's ask anyone outside the PC industry about Windows 7... no answers. Consumers are thinking of powerful mobiles with 3'5G internet, 8 Mpx cameras, GPS and HDTV. Microsoft/Windows era has been left as past history. They are becomming the next Sun. Sun made excellent products, but nobody put attention on them since they could make the same job with the much cheaper Intel stuff. Microsoft can make great products, but nobody will put attention since they can make the same job with the much cheaper Open Source stuff. With free software like Linux, Java, Eclipse and the Google Web Toolkit everything is possible (Google docs beeing the best example).

Does it matter? Well, sort of. I think at least part of the answer is HERE.

By the way, GNU/linux is, or will be, the next best OS. Of course, with the advent of cloud computing it may not matter much.

Wow, MLB dropped Silverlight? You mean I can go back to listening to my beloved Bosox on streaming audio? (Yankee fanboys need not reply to this!)

I think a lot of you are wrong by thinking this is yet another move of microsoft to tighten its control on customers. I think this guy is probably more right: http://www.tech-no-media.com/2009/09/why-microsoft-wont-fight-moblin.html

I'm not interested in cloud computing. If i want a program I'll run it from my machine, thanks.

Cloud computing is for suckers.

Netflix offers online video a library of over 17,000 titles ... viewable on a PC only with Silverlight. Even the Novell Moonlight has not been able to be successful, yet, with Netflix online content BECAUSE MICROSOFT KEEPS CHANGING THINGS TO ENFORCE DRM.

If Microsoft offer Silverlight, will it be open source? If it is, then the keys to the Silverlight DRM kingdom may be available to allow Linux users to have access to Netflix content, copied without the DRM enforcement.

Microsoft charges the USER for DRM enforcement for the protection of content providers (read that as: BIG MEDIA).

So, if Microsoft allows Novell to develop full parity between Silverlight and Moonlight, then Microsoft loses revenue (licensing fees) -- and it is THIS tension that may be a big driver for Microsoft to develop Silverlight for Linux.

If the source code is not available for public scrutiny, I will not be putting Silverlight on any of my many Linux PCs -- because I don't trust Microsoft. If competent Linux software developers who have a chance to examine the source code judge it safe (no malware, spyware, backdoors, etc), then I might consider it.

Currently there is no Microsoft in my house -- not even a M$ mouse or a M$ keyboard.

Silverlight can deliver media, but it is not about it. It is the way to build a complex RIA faster and cheaper. The competitor to Silverlight is not Flash but JavaFX.

Windows 7 may or may not run well on netbooks. Either way it is useless if MS wants to compete on price. My bet is that MS wants a plan just in case Linux reaches enterprise through netbooks.

No Microsoft here as well. I run Ubuntu, And it is what a computer should be to me. After using Windows for so long I finally realized it was a hindrance.

But if more websites are going to use Silverlight in the future I would like to see Microsoft support a Linux version on par with Windows. As I see it, companies that have bought into Silverlight as well as Microsoft have an obligation to make it work on all computers. But one thing I certainly will not do, and that is switch back to Windows just for Silverlight. I have been there and don't want to go back.

Silverlight isn't about video, it's an application framework. It happens to support video, among many, many other things.