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“Silverlight is a popular new way to build and deliver cross-browser, cross-platform experiences on the Web,” said Miguel de Icaza, vice president of Developer Platforms and leader of the Mono project
Silverlight significantly reduces development and deployment costs and provides enhanced Web audio and video streaming and playback using industry-leading Windows Media® Technologies. Microsoft unveiled new Silverlight customer experiences on “Entertainment Tonight,” HSN and World Wrestling Entertainment, and also launched the Silverlight Partner Initiative, a program designed to foster collaboration among solution providers, content delivery networks, tools vendors and design agencies.
“Our expectations for compelling, immersive experiences on the Web are increasing daily,” said Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect. “With today’s release of Silverlight 1.0, we’re making it possible for developers and designers to deliver to individuals the kind of high-def experiences they crave by integrating data and services in rich and unique ways. Silverlight will further accelerate the growth in rich interactive applications by giving developers and designers new options for delivering great experiences that span the Web, PC, phone and other devices.”
Leading Broadcast, Online Content Providers Light up the Web With Silverlight
“Entertainment Tonight,” HSN and World Wrestling Entertainment as well as several Microsoft Web initiatives including the “Halo® 3” preview, Tafiti.com and The Podium ’08 are just a few of the brands already demonstrating the power of Silverlight. “Entertainment Tonight,” the No. 1 entertainment newsmagazine, worked with interactive design agencies REZN8 and IdentityMine Inc. to build a complete minisite dedicated to Emmy Award coverage linked from ETOnline.com and TheInsiderOnline.com. This is the first phase in ET’s long-term commitment to build Silverlight-powered minisites to cover high-profile entertainment events.
“When ‘Entertainment Tonight’ was launched 27 years ago, we changed the way the world saw celebrity news. I’m thrilled to be partnering with Microsoft® Silverlight to put ‘Entertainment Tonight’ on the leading edge again and give our viewers a virtual front-row seat at Hollywood’s biggest events,” said Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of Entertainment Tonight. “‘ET’ is the first stop for the stars at the 59th annual Emmy Awards, and with Microsoft’s revolutionary new technology we will create a truly unique interactive experience — from the red carpet for all the fashions and backstage with Mary Hart and the winners to going inside our exclusive after-party that all of Hollywood is talking about. This is going to be fun.”
With its portfolio of application platform technology capabilities and products, Microsoft is both a longtime leader in development tools and a pioneer in enhancing user experiences on the Web and desktop. The tight integration between Visual Studio® and Expression Studio allows developers and designers to easily share projects, designs and code to create stunning, high-quality applications faster and in a more cost-effective manner.
In addition to the release of Silverlight 1.0, Microsoft released Expression Encoder 1.0 (formerly Expression Media Encoder), a tool that makes it simple for professionals to encode, enhance and publish rich media content to Silverlight. The intuitive interface allows users to rapidly encode a wide array of file-based media content formats into a Silverlight experience. Expression Encoder also eases production of live events using sought-after features such as multisource switching and publishing of content to services including Silverlight Streaming by Windows Live™.
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