Of all the tech conferences out there TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design), which started in 1984, is recognized as one of the premier conferences. One of the great things about the conference is that all the individual speakers are video taped giving their presentations and those videos are made available via the TED website after the conference is over.

I know myself I have lost hours watching some incredible presentations given at the conference but this usually involves heading over to the TED site and searching through their archives. Now thanks to the folks at Thirteen23, as a way to showcase Silverlight 3, have created a desktop app that will let you find and watch any of the available TED video presentations from the comfort of your desktop.

a big thanks and hat tip to Steve Clayton for this gem

Get all of TED on your desktop is a post from: The Inquisitr

MySpace and Silverlight

In unveiling its new deal, MySpace showed off a handful of new Silverlight-powered applications already available, including an animated friend list utility that can be added onto any profile.

“Silverlight empowers MySpace developers with more freedom and flexibility to design OpenSocial applications that provide streaming video, graphics and audio to a variety of platforms and devices,” the announcement says.

“Silverlight and the MySpace Open Platform will enable developers to rapidly create and deliver sophisticated MySpace applications with a custom look and feel through the flexible skinning of controls and data.”

Facebook and Flash

Facebook, on the other hand, is working with Adobe to broaden its support for Flash-based applications. While Flash was already available for Facebook developers, the site is now adding “official support” for the full ActionScript 3.0 Client Library for Facebook Platform.

“With this client library, developers building rich Flash experiences will be able to easily access the social features of Facebook Platform from external websites using Facebook Connect, from applications on Facebook, or from desktop applications,” the announcement says.

“New ideas may include the next generation of social games, seeing friends sharing and commenting on video or music streamed through Flash, or manipulating photos of yourself and your friends.”

Weighing the Two

Despite some people’s strong feelings for Silverlight, the fact remains that the majority of Web users have no idea what it is — and, when prompted to download it to run any MySpace Silverlight application, may or may not even understand the request. Flash, on the other hand, is close to a standard as there is (even without the iPhone on-board). Most computer users already have it installed — about 99 percent, according to some recent stats published in The New York Times.

Despite Microsoft’s attempt to use last year’s Olympics as a launching ground for Silverlight, the platform is still dwarfed by the ubiquity of Flash. Combine that with the ongoing trend of Facebook gaining ground and MySpace losing market share, and it seems the Facebook-Flash pairing is the clear winner all around.

MySpace Gets Silverlight, Facebook Gets Flash. Winner: Facebook. is a post from: The Inquisitr

“At the end of the day, Apple ultimately controls what software runs on the iPhone. To date, what they’ve said is that at this time, they’re not looking to enable browser plug-ins like Silverlight or Flash to run on top of it.”

The spokesperson goes on to say that the company would gladly offer up an iPhone-friendly version if Apple changed its mind, but as long as the third-party gate remains closed, it will remain locked out.

The upcoming G1 Android phone, in contrast, will likely see Silverlight before long. The reason? Its open source nature makes it easy for third-party utilities to come in. Microsoft’s rep said the company will “definitely keep [its] eyes out” as far as that possibility goes.

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Apple Tells Silverlight to Step Away From the iPhone is a post from: The Inquisitr

The second full release of Silverlight will attempt to gain ground in the ongoing war with Adobe AIR, but it won’t add the previously discussed offline capability that would put the two in more direct competition. The update does add options for developers with a new Silverlight Control Pack and accompanying technical specification guide to the program’s XAML vocabulary. Other highlighted features, as described by Microsoft:

• .NET Framework support with a rich base class library. This is a compatible subset of the full .NET Framework.
• Powerful built-in controls. These include DataGrid, ListBox, Slider, ScrollViewer, Calendar controls and more.
• Advanced skinning and templating support. This makes it easy to customize the look and feel of an application.
• Deep zoom. This enables unparalleled interactivity and navigation of ultrahigh resolution imagery.
• Comprehensive networking support. Out-of-the-box support allows calling REST, WS*/SOAP, POX, RSS and standard HTTP services, enabling users to create applications that easily integrate with existing back-end systems.
• Expanded .NET Framework language support. Unlike other runtimes, Silverlight 2 supports a variety of programming languages, including Visual Basic, C#, JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby, making it easier for developers already familiar with one of these languages to repurpose their existing skill sets.
• Advanced content protection. This now includes Silverlight DRM, powered by PlayReady, offering robust content protection for connected Silverlight experiences.
• Improved server scalability and expanded advertiser support. This includes new streaming and progressive download capabilities, superior search engine optimization techniques, and next-generation in-stream advertising support.
• Vibrant partner ecosystem. Visual Studio Industry Partners such as ComponentOne LLC, Infragistics Inc. and Telerik Inc. are providing products that further enhance developer capabilities when creating Silverlight applications using Visual Studio.
• Cross-platform and cross-browser support. This includes support for Mac, Windows and Linux in Firefox, Safari and Windows Internet Explorer.

Silverlight 2 will go live for downloading at Microsoft’s official site Tuesday morning. Current users will see an automatic upgrade when they run the program.

Microsoft Unveils Silverlight 2 Without Offline Addition is a post from: The Inquisitr

Google’s original announcement that DoubleClick would start powering Silverlight 2-based ads disappeared shortly after its posting this morning, leading us to question what was up with the deal. Google tells us, though, that the vanishing act was a result of a “glitch” on its web site and was unrelated to the deal itself. It was fixed just a few minutes ago.

So, it’s a go: The new partnership will launch with the monetization of 2,500 hours of Silverlight NBC Olympic content. DoubleClick’s already on-board for ad serving with Flash, RealMedia, and Windows Media, so the addition of Silverlight 2 only makes sense from Google’s perspective — though it’s probably not a positive reflection on Microsoft, with the company turning to its competitor for help on its own product.

Update: Google-Silverlight Deal Rolling Forward is a post from: The Inquisitr

Silverlight 2 beta 2, seen as Microsoft’s answer to Adobe’s long-standing Flash platform, builds upon the .Net framework introduced in the first beta release. The new version adds extra controls, improved networking and data handling capabilities, and enhanced error handling. It also features enhanced templates and integration with Expression Blend and Visual Studio as well as added cross-domain support and several other modifications. The beta is expected to be made available for download by the end of the week with a full version slated to be completed by the year’s end.

IE 8 beta 2, on the other hand, may be the company’s attempt at competing with the upcoming Firefox 3. The new beta will be targeted more at average end-users as opposed to the developer-heavy focus of the first beta release earlier this year. Microsoft says beta 2 will come out this August. A final product release date has not yet been set.

Microsoft Reveals Beta Release Plans is a post from: The Inquisitr