On Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 12:56 PM, chadvavra <chad.va...@imedstudios.com>wrote:
> Silverlight = not so stable, bloated IE framework This just perpetuates prejudice and ignorance. The Reality Silverlight is not an "IE framework." It is based on the .NET framework, which has been in production since 2002. The UI engine was based on WPF, Microsoft's latest Windows platform UI technology, and has been in production since 2006. Silverlight was originally called WPF/e, i.e., WPF everywhere--Silverlight brings the core of the .NET framework and Visual Studio (which MS devs *love* and non-MS devs envy) to cross-platform, cross-browser. It is not Windows-only, nor is it IE-only. I suggest you check out the Silverlight 2 System Reqs<http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/overview/faq.aspx#sys-req>; as for browsers, I refer you to this post on Silverlight Browser Support<http://blogs.msdn.com/jstegman/archive/2008/12/21/silverlight-browser-support.aspx>; We've found that Quince runs fair decent in IE, Safari 3 (and 4 Beta on Mac), Chrome, and Firefox. "bloated"? Nope. Considering how much they cram into those 4MB for Windows and 7MB for Mac, it's not bloated at all. That's like one MP3 on Win or a long one on Mac. And with Silverlight 3, they've added a bunch of good stuff while reducing the download size (through optimizations). "not so stable"? How do you corroborate this statement? Last year's Olympics ran on Silverlight 2 *beta*. It went so well, they're renewing for the next Olympics. Netflix is giddy about Silverlight for their player. I can speak from experience that Quince has been a dream of stability as well. Sure there are issues, but overall, it's been great. On the other hand, consider this<http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/162805/mlb_in_social_media_stumble_with_mlbtv_blog.html?tk=loom_art> . Don't Let Prejudice Impede Your Professional Growth I don't want to start a war by any means, but I am just repeatedly amazed at the level of ignorance and prejudice some people express about Microsoft and Silverlight, particularly. It bears correcting. We should be professionals, not tribesmen. Look, I'm sure folks could look at me and blow me off as a Microsoft fanboy. If so, let me say I'm just a fan because my long, in-depth experience with them has made me that. Microsoft has been very good to me, as a professional. While I've never worked for them, they've empowered me--and the businesses I've worked for--to be more successful; they build and support great professional communities, and for devs especially, they build great tools. That said, I don't let that blind me to see what is good in other solution platforms or what could be improved in theirs. In fact, I've long been an "insider" of sorts precisely so that I could provide positive feedback to improve the tools I worked on daily. I don't hate Adobe by any means; I've been learning Fw cuz it enables me to do my job. I don't hate Apple--on the contrary, I really love my iPhone and enjoy my MacBook! Why would I spend so much (negative) emotional energy on a technology provider? That's just silly, IMO. Especially as a designer--the choice between technologies that are more or less equal in terms of interface capabilities (design constraints) should really have little impact. Just use the tools that make you most effective as a designer. If my situation--the project I were on--called for some other technology platform, I'd think of it gleefully. An opportunity to greatly expand my horizons, my knowledge, and my skills. I wouldn't let prejudice stop me from improving myself, and it'd be one more tickmark on the ol' résumé that'd make me that much more valuable. Even if you don't care about your own professional development, at a minimum, I suggest folks stop parroting ignorant talking points and just actually evaluate things for what they are. The information is out there--get it from the horses' mouths or reputable, dispassionate 3rd parties; download trials and try for yourself. If Silverlight or AIR or Flash or <insert tool here> doesn't make sense for your context, that's fine, but dismissing it out of hand due to some prejudice is just plain silly and unprofessional. --Ambrose ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
