5 ms·

But why? Re-creating Flash makes sense to me because of the sheer amount of content, but the only thing I can think of that used Silverlight was Netflix ... yea

But why? Re-creating Flash makes sense to me because of the sheer amount of content, but the only thing I can think of that used Silverlight was Netflix ... years ago. Is Silverlight really a game changer such that it's worth bringing back from the dead?

angrygoat 6y ago
I remember installing it to watch the Feynman lectures, but it looks like Microsoft have made them available without Silverlight now: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/tuva-richard-feynman/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/tuva-richar...
jack1243star 6y ago
Well Silverlight did have the best official avatar of any Microsoft product, Hikaru Aizawa[1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Aizawa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Aizawa
kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
I recently installed some industrial software that still uses Silverlight. I only needed some header files and promptly removed the foul beast.
thelazydogsback 6y ago
I think Silverlight could have been more of a thing if MS handled their UI story better -- WPF/Silverlight was great to develop for and it did solve some problems. I remember that Windows Phone (which also was pretty good) didn't run Silverlight sites -- I always thought that was the weirdest choice, because if it did it would have provided a great mobile experience for it's time.
- JamesNK 6y ago
  The future of Silverlight and Flash died when mobile phones rejected browser plugins. No amount of good choices from MS/Adobe would change that.
  - zoomablemind 6y ago
    Wasn't that the HTML5 which predicated the Flash video demise? Not sure if it affected Silverlight to the same extent. Yet, the other day I saw another Flash update pop up on Win 10 laptop in Edge. I don't even know why it's still needed.... What a strange ritual (now it's pushidng McAfee along). Edit: FYI, quoting from the Wired, 2017: Adobe itself acknowledged the transition [from Flash over to HTML5], though a bit less bluntly: “As open standards like HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly have matured over the past several years, most now provide many of the capabilities and functionalities that plugins pioneered and have become a viable alternative for content on the web.” https://www.wired.com/story/adobe-finally-kills-flash-dead/ https://www.wired.com/story/adobe-finally-kills-flash-dead/
  - ShhhDontTell 6y ago
    They were dying before that. Open web standards were a big thing for anyone doing front-end dev then. iphone not supporting flash was just another nail in the coffin... turned out to be a big nail.
fortran77 6y ago
They really should have positioned Silverlight as a portable .net environment that runs everywhere, and not as a "flash substitute". I liked it.

angrygoat 6y ago

I remember installing it to watch the Feynman lectures, but it looks like Microsoft have made them available without Silverlight now: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/tuva-richard-feynman/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/tuva-richar...

jack1243star 6y ago

Well Silverlight did have the best official avatar of any Microsoft product, Hikaru Aizawa[1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Aizawa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Aizawa

kevin_thibedeau 6y ago

I recently installed some industrial software that still uses Silverlight. I only needed some header files and promptly removed the foul beast.

thelazydogsback 6y ago

I think Silverlight could have been more of a thing if MS handled their UI story better -- WPF/Silverlight was great to develop for and it did solve some problems. I remember that Windows Phone (which also was pretty good) didn't run Silverlight sites -- I always thought that was the weirdest choice, because if it did it would have provided a great mobile experience for it's time.

JamesNK 6y ago
The future of Silverlight and Flash died when mobile phones rejected browser plugins. No amount of good choices from MS/Adobe would change that.
- zoomablemind 6y ago
  Wasn't that the HTML5 which predicated the Flash video demise? Not sure if it affected Silverlight to the same extent. Yet, the other day I saw another Flash update pop up on Win 10 laptop in Edge. I don't even know why it's still needed.... What a strange ritual (now it's pushidng McAfee along). Edit: FYI, quoting from the Wired, 2017: Adobe itself acknowledged the transition [from Flash over to HTML5], though a bit less bluntly: “As open standards like HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly have matured over the past several years, most now provide many of the capabilities and functionalities that plugins pioneered and have become a viable alternative for content on the web.” https://www.wired.com/story/adobe-finally-kills-flash-dead/ https://www.wired.com/story/adobe-finally-kills-flash-dead/
- ShhhDontTell 6y ago
  They were dying before that. Open web standards were a big thing for anyone doing front-end dev then. iphone not supporting flash was just another nail in the coffin... turned out to be a big nail.

fortran77 6y ago

They really should have positioned Silverlight as a portable .net environment that runs everywhere, and not as a "flash substitute". I liked it.