Smart move Microsoft!

[TeoBigusGeekus]

The beginning of the end for flash? Hurray!!!

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/30/rip-silverlight-on-the-web/

[Spice Weasel]

Embrace, Extend, Extinguish

[Oxwivi]

And another of Microsoft's effort to monopolise goes down the drain, processed in the sewage treatment and recycled.

[Half-Left]

Goodbye Silverlight, nice not knowing you.

[Untitled_No4]

Does that affect Moonlight?

[kaldor]

“HTML is the only true cross platform solution for everything, including (Apple’s) iOS platform,” Muglia told Foley.

First ODF support in Office 2010, and now dropping Silverlight in favour of HTML5's new standards? Awesome.

[TriBlox6432]

Perhaps Microsoft has come to it's senses. Really looking forward for the next 5 years or so. Perhaps they realize that they suck, and are trying to fix it.

[kaldor]

Perhaps Microsoft has come to it's senses. Really looking forward for the next 5 years or so. Perhaps they realize that they suck, and are trying to fix it.

They don't suck at everything. Even though I do not use it, MS Office is great (especially PowerPoint) along with some other things they have done.

Windows is hit/miss depending on your needs.

IE just sucks, but maybe IE9 will fix that up. They realize they need to conform to the competition/market a bit more or they will continue to lose ground. IE usage has gone down a lot.

Apple has Safari. Ubuntu has Firefox. Windows has IE8. Which one of them has the most issues?

[Merk42]

Embrace, Extend, ExtinguishWith what exactly? Did you read the article or just see Microsoft in the title and post?

[TriBlox6432]

They don't suck at everything. Even though I do not use it, MS Office is great (especially PowerPoint) along with some other things they have done.

Oh, I agree. I use Microsoft Word over OpenOffice Writer any day. I still remain partial to iWork Keynote over PowerPoint though. I don't use spreadsheets really at all, but I still prefer MsOffice over OO.o in that category.

I think right now, we need to promote inter-OS compatibility. If I make something in Microsoft Office, I should be able to open it in OO.o or iWork no problems. Same in reverse. I don't have a problem with others using different OSs or software, but please can we get them all to work together nicely?!

(But we do need to get other companies to support Linux and, less so, Mac versions of their products)

[kaldor]

(But we do need to get other companies to support Linux and, less so, Mac versions of their products)

As a Mac user I disagree. It's a powerful mainstream UNIX OS and I do not want that to go away for the sake of pushing Linux ahead.

[Random_Dude]

I think right now, we need to promote inter-OS compatibility. If I make something in Microsoft Office, I should be able to open it in OO.o or iWork no problems. Same in reverse. I don't have a problem with others using different OSs or software, but please can we get them all to work together nicely?!

Couldn't agree more.

[TriBlox6432]

As a Mac user I disagree. It's a powerful mainstream UNIX OS and I do not want that to go away for the sake of pushing Linux ahead.

That's not what I was suggesting. But a lot of software products are already supported by Mac. Photoshop, Microsoft Office, etc. and aren't supported with Linux. We need to get companies to support both, but a lot already support Mac, so with *those* we need to focus on Linux.

[Spice Weasel]

With what exactly? Did you read the article or just see Microsoft in the title and post?

Step 1. Accept HTML5 and add support.
Step 2. Add closed source features on to HTML5.
Step 3. "When extensions become a de facto standard because of their dominant market share, they marginalize competitors that do not or cannot support the new extensions."

[JDShu]

Step 1. Accept HTML5 and add support.
Step 2. Add closed source features on to HTML5.
Step 3. "When extensions become a de facto standard because of their dominant market share, they marginalize competitors that do not or cannot support the new extensions."

Let's worry about your step 2 when it happens.

[areteichi]

I guess I will go ahead and uninstall Moonlight add-on :popcorn:

[Austin25]

Awesome. Now just waiting for firefox to leave beta so I can download to use html5...

[NMFTM]

Step 1. Accept HTML5 and add support.
Step 2. Add closed source features on to HTML5.
Step 3. "When extensions become a de facto standard because of their dominant market share, they marginalize competitors that do not or cannot support the new extensions."
Even if that does happen. We technically won't be any worse off than we are now with Adobe Flash, a proprietary software company that controls a proprietary standard that's key to much of modern web browsing. The only reason it'd be worse is that Microsoft would have more to gain by making the extensions Windows-only while Adobe really doesn't. Although, I would think that even that fear is somewhat unfounded. Because of anti-trust laws Microsoft would probably make their proprietary extensions available for OSX and Linux.

[Merk42]

Even if that does happen. We technically won't be any worse off than we are now with Adobe Flash, a proprietary software company that controls a proprietary standard that's key to much of modern web browsing. The only reason it'd be worse is that Microsoft would have more to gain by making the extensions Windows-only while Adobe really doesn't. Although, I would think that even that fear is somewhat unfounded. Because of anti-trust laws Microsoft would probably make their proprietary extensions available for OSX and Linux.
It won't happen.
The only reason Microsoft was able to do stuff like that 10 years ago was because they had a vast majority (80-90%+) of browser market share.
Nowadays there is a much greater push for standards compliance than there was back then. Microsoft could theorhetically make all the proprietary stuff they want, but there are two things to keep in mind. It wouldn't be part of the HTML5 standard Developers would have to actually use it, for it to become the 'de facto' standardGiven this article was about Microsoft moving to focus on HTML5 due to the lackluster adoption rate of Silverlight it's an example of point 2.

[NMFTM]

It won't happen. The only reason...
Yeah, I was just giving a worse case scenario.

[Exodist]

Perhaps Microsoft has come to it's senses. Really looking forward for the next 5 years or so. Perhaps they realize that they suck, and are trying to fix it.

I am known for jumping all head in for everything linux. But in all honestly Win7 for desktop usage isnt bad at all. There really isnt anything about it I couldnt complain about in any os or linux distro. But I would never for the love of all that is good ever every run Windows server ever as well "a server". I have to take take some server classes for my IT degree I am finishing it up and it eats at the very core of my bones to have to configure a windows server. Not because its hard, any fool can hunt and click away at settings and punch in basic DNS/IP info. But because I am lazy and I rather just go change the settings on a few text files then hunt and click all day. I can setup a LAMP server and have it up in running in 10mins -vs- taking over a hour to accomplish the same task in windows.
But thats just me and one of my random rants.

[Khakilang]

It seem Microsoft cannot have everything, want everything and do everything. I think they should stick to what they do best.

[toupeiro]

This is pretty epic. Kudo's Microsoft.

[areteichi]

Developers described themselves as "betrayed", "disappointed" and "demoralised" by the decision.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11673384

Poor poor developers at Microsoft. :cry:
But I suppose they should have known better from the beginning. When does Microsoft not betray you? :-D

[Sand & Mercury]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11673384

Poor poor developers at Microsoft. :cry:
They'll get over it. Microsoft has done a great service in the long run to everyone by switching modes like this, including their own devs. Kudos to them.


But I suppose they should have known better from the beginning. When does Microsoft not betray you? :-D
How mature.