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> Why is having a plugin incompatible with the web? The very basis of the web is open protocols and open access: anyone running any networked computer can acce
by cryptoz 16y ago
> Why is having a plugin incompatible with the web?
The very basis of the web is open protocols and open access: anyone running any networked computer can access any web content. That's how the web grew to be so big: it didn't matter if you were running UNIX or Windows or Mac, you could access the same information as anyone else, and you could contribute back.
Content that is produced with Silverlight is Microsoft-only, so if you are in an environment where you can't install closed plugins, or if you just don't want to, then you can't see the content. The same goes for Flash of course: the only reason it took off is because it could do things that the regular web couldn't. That's slowly becoming less and less true now, and Silverlight is just not needed.
However, Microsoft is pushing Silverlight because it locks people into their software: if enough people use it to build content, then everyone will have to continue using Microsoft software. That is completely incompatible with The Web and all it stands for.
I don't know how Microsoft should make money. But the way they're aiming themselves into the future is doomed to fail. I get that they probably understand their space is dying, but the problem is that they're not looking for alternatives. They're just pushing the same products they have been for decades.
If they know that won't work, why are they trying it? Look, I haven't got the answer and if I did I'd be rich. But pushing your users into anti-Web, locked-in environments is going to fail in a web-driven world run by Google.
- kenjackson 16y agoI think you misunderstood my post. My point was that Silverlight was NOT the web, but was not incompatible with it. By this I meant that having Silverlight doesn't destroy the web. The same way gay marriage doesn't effect your marriage. They can both coexist. And you can choose what you want to use. I disagree about your reason why the web because so big. Frankly, I think what caused to become so big was ease and speed of deployment. If the web was PC only it would have grown on marginally slower. I don't know how MS is trying to make money, but I think I see what they're doing: 1) Focus on Bing Search. Search revenue is a huge chunk of money and allows them to move to the web more easily. 2) Make IE the BEST browser experience. I think they've finally decided that the web can actually have differentiated experiences, and I think they want IE/Windows to be the best platform for it. But at the same time they continue to also focus on business users. And the fact that a lot of consumers still need a desktop OS. I spend a fair bit of time editing movies, and while I'm sure there's a web app that will render BluRay movies from HD video, I've yet to find one as good as the desktop tools I have. You don't leave money on the table when you're a business. Just like Google won't leave money when it comes to selling your eyeballs.