The Library of Congress has recently signed an agreement with Microsoft to make the library’s artifacts available to both its online visitors, and those who visit the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington DC.
“Microsoft Silverlight is a browser plugin that allows web applications to be developed with features like animation, vector graphics, and audio-video playback – features that characterize a rich internet application.” (1)
Wikipedia Entry on Silverlight
Microsoft will provide a 3 million dollar grant to:
“…enhance the online accessibility and interactivity of about 800 of the Library of Congress’ prominent holdings. “ (2)
Government Computer News
The concern I have, and I am sure many others will chime in here, is that Silverlight, is a closed source program controlled very tightly by Microsoft. Users are required to use Windows, or Mac OS X, Linux users not presently able to use Silverlight although work is being done on a Linux version by volunteers.
The reason for bringing this up, is that I have a growing concern with the slow yet rising popularity of Silverlight given that CTV presently uses it to run their broadband network. Because CTV uses Silverlight, and not any of the many other methods of managing their content online, I, as a Linux user am not able to enjoy their online offerings. I must rely on bittorrent, newsgroups, or other methods to be able to enjoy the same shows, for example, The Daily Show, and when I do that, CTV doesn’t get the benefit of me watching their ads.
The other concern is that if too many sites begin using Silverlight as their foundation for streaming content, it could mean that all non Microsoft users could ultimately have trouble viewing this online content, or be shut out altogether.
Presently adoption for this technology has been slow, but Microsoft may have found a way to get their plugin loaded on another 60 million machines a month, by converting a significant portion of their site to Silverlight.
“…Microsoft.com is the 8th most popular site on the internet, with around 60 million unique visitors a month. Put another way, if Microsoft successfully pulls this off, that’s 60 million new Silverlight users in the first month alone!” (3)
Excerpt from: http://neosmart.net/
Time will tell if their are successful. My sincere hope is that they are not, and that a more cross-platform friendly solution takes the lead helping people of all computer backgrounds in enjoying content (especially tv) online.
Technorati Tags: Television, CTV, Comedy Network, TSN, Daily Show, John Stewart, Silverlight, Silverlight Sucks, Microsoft, Library Of Congress, .NET, Neosmart
(1) “Microsoft Silverlight.” wikipedia. 21 February 2008. Wikipedia. 20 Feb 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Silverlight>.
(2) Bain, Ben, and Trudy Walsh. “Library of Congress taps Silverlight to enhance access.” Government Computer News 01/21/2008(2008):http://www.gcn.com/print/27_2/45710-1.html
(3)“Microsoft to Push Silverlight via Redesigned Website.” The NeoSmart Files. 03 January 2008. neosmart.net. 20 Feb 2008 <http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/redesigned-microsoft-website-to-use-silverlight/>.
