Okay Geek Farm
Microsoft leaves Silverlight for HTML5
Brandon Davenport
Things are changing, and Microsoft seems to be getting with the times with their new mobile OS WIndows Phone 7 and Internet Explorer 9 — but Microsoft seems to be taking the biggest leap in the right direction by ditching Silverlight for HTML5.
Despite Microsoft’s past efforts to turn Silverlight into a new web-standard, they have decided to shift their focus to HTML5. Mary-Jo Foley from ZDNet spoke with the president of Microsoft’s server and tools business, Bob Muglia about their shift in focus. He said that “HTML is the only true cross platform solution for everything, including (Apple’s) iOS platform.”, and that is one of the truest statements I have ever heard from anyone at Microsoft.
Internet Explorer 9 seems to be Microsoft’s gateway into the world of real web standards and it’s clear they want to drop Silverlight and start embracing HTML5. This is a really good thing for users because web-applications won’t require a “plugin” — they will just work out of the box. Mobile devices will be able to view websites just like on a desktop without “optimizations” because all the abilities for playing videos and other media will be self contained in the browser or device, so it will essentially optimize the website on the fly — for example, Youtube videos on the iPad don’t use flash, but the iPad renders the player and video itself, and this could work for any website.
Here’s hoping that HTML5 support comes to Windows Phone 7, and that Microsoft more aggressively takes advantage of modern web technologies that are standard and compatible on every mobile device and browser. Heres to a better web.
