However until recently there was not significant WPF traction for desktop applications. I'd argue there still isn't much traction for WPF. And based on Win8 r

However until recently there was not significant WPF traction for desktop applications. I'd argue there still isn't much traction for WPF. And based on Win8 rumors it sounds like MS is going to go all in on Silverlight. My bet is that WPF is their interop framework (because it works much better with legacy native apps) and Silverlight is where you do everything else. WPF does have a decently steep learning curve, but it pays you back with interest.