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/>.
3 Comments
This works pretty straight forward. I was on the receiving end as a developer of this upsell.
MS goes into the boardroom, insures no knowledgeable developers are present and sells moon, sky and the sun to technically retarded management.
I just finished a 4 months Silverlight project for one of Telcos in Canada. The project was in essence a rebroadcast of tv channels on the web.
Guess which demo MS used to sell the board room… yup, the HD movie trailer demo. And after that I’m being looked at like I don’t know what I’m talking about when I tell them that you can’t get HD quality after compressing NTSC signal.
The other upsell is expertise and technical support Microsoft promises to provide. Sounds great! However, in my experience the turn around time on questions is about 3-5 which renders it completely useless.
I’m not sure I’m buying this point of yours. It sounds as if we’ve got our ‘rights’ mixed up with our ‘privileges’ here in America yet once again.
I hate to say it, but Linux users are in the same position as those who own older Mercedes diesel cars during this gas crunch.
You can:
1) Get a new car and save the money now that diesel costs more than premium unleaded.
or
2) Convert to biodiesel or burn old french fry vat oil and do it for pennies on the dollar.
I don’t mean to sound insensitive to the issue, however it’s a question of what the majority of people use, what’s reasonably available, and third, it comes down to a business strategy used by a… for-profit business.
Driving licenses – right or privilege. It’s a privilege, just like access to the Library of Congress (or any library, for that matter).
Of course I like your well worded post, and I’ll link to it from my site in my upcoming Silverlight vs Flex update. Here’s a link to my past post on Silverlight:
http://charlesjeter.com/2008/01/05/adobe-flex-vs-microsoft-silverlight-part-1/
As for linux users, I almost forgot this announcement from last year:
http://charlesjeter.com/2007/09/05/microsoft-releases-silverlight-extends-support-to-linux/
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