Microsoft arranges 'safe' Silverlight and HTML marriage

Microsoft is marrying HTML and Silverlight in a roadmap, due today, that blurs the lines between Windows PCs and the web. On Thursday, the company announced the next version of its browser-based media player will feature a new class of trusted applications that let you run authorized HTML apps in the browser, launch Office and …

[Jeroen Braamhaar]

They really don't learn ...

"On Thursday, the company announced the next version of its browser-based media player will feature a new class of trusted applications that let you run authorized HTML apps in the browser"

And who is in charge of this 'trust' ?

How secure is it ?

Is it turned on by default ?

Will it work properly in/with browsers NOT called "Internet Explorer" ?

Sigh ....

I imagine the blackhatters are throwing a party in Microsoft's honor right now.

[Gilgamesh]

So Silverlight finally shows its true colours

It's ActiveX controls all over again. Wtih pretty graphics. Whoopee.

[Youngone]

Security? What's that?

Sounds like a great idea, let the Internets have access to my local file system. What could possibly go wrong?

[Anteaus]

Er, Microsoft, what does "HazKr pWnz Yr PC" mean?

"...launch Office and desktop apps, and write files to the My Documents folder on your PC."

Oh boy, when will they ever learn from past experiences, that allowing websites to launch local code outside of the browser is a BAD idea. ?

Shakes head in disbelief.

[Lewis Mettler 1]

worse than writing files

Reading files is normally much easier than writing. Or, at least it should be.

Sounds like a serious security violation.

At least non-Microsoft users are not likely to be attacked.

[Tom Chiverton 1]

Sounds like

Sounds like ActiveX again. And didn't that do well...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hooray for "rich magazine-style text layouts"

...that will not work on tablets other than W7

...or phones other than WP7

If this was 2009, I might not describe this as completely retarded... but taking Silverlight and making it even more platform-centric than it already was is a bad idea IMO.

Regarding DRM... If I were cynical, I might think this is a move to use Silverlight apps to help support/protect Windows and WP7. It's already a barrier to Linux HTPC adoption for me since Silverlight doesn't run on Linux (and my family *has* to have Netflix). If they get Hulu, or maybe BBC to join up then they can effectively lock out non-MS users from Internet content... or am I just being paranoid?

[Anonymous Coward]

If...

"If they get Hulu, or maybe BBC to join up then they can effectively lock out non-MS users from Internet content..."

Which is why it will not happen. Even if they try to stitch this to some sort of crappy DRM-related excuse, it's blatantly obvious as what it is... protectionism and monopoly abuse.

Enter antitrust law enforcement (again). And here in the UK we are in the EU (still, I think anyway...), which has shown time and time again that it will NOT tolerate Microsoft's criminal behaviour...

Which supports the rumour that a certain large commercial technology campus in the eastern sector of Reading (no, not Oracle) is, in reality, a prototype for a new type of open prison... and working there is certainly a cruel and unusual punishment...

[amanfromarse]

COM??

Are you sure about that? Is it some kind of American Fools day?

[Charles Manning]

Fool me once...

shame on you.

Fool me many, many times since 4th April 1975 then shame on me!

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds really "safe"

What could possibly go wro

[Tom 35]

The only'safe' Silverlight

Is a dead Silverlight .

It's like Bob, you think it's dead, and it shows up as Clippy and that stupid search dog...

They seem to be aiming for business, so I expect it will require them to buy Server 2008R2, SQL 2008R2, Sharepoint 2010, and Windows 7 / IE9 to use it. It will also need a TCM.

Oh, I forgot Exchange.

A nice way to get the companies to finally replace their IE6 only apps, with IE9 only apps.

[Bilgepipe]

Oh Dear

How can this possible not be an epic failure?

Microsoft - still not learning...

[Will Godfrey]

Wow!

Never saw that coming. O noes.

[Mikel]

Pure awesomeness

Oh, gosh. This is just too wonderful. Tight integration of HTML5 with the OS, through Silverlight. You have to bet whoever came up with that one got a bonus this year. The outcome of this one will be epic. Just watching the bloggerati try and sell this as the Next Great Thing is going to be fabulous. The show as they suffer their summers of pratfalls and prop jokes are going to be delightful.

Concur with everyone above. They Just Don't Get It. Still. Woohoo! The further from reality they are, the closer we are to seeing the end of them and their prevention of progress. To those compelled in the work space to try and do useful lasting work with their products, regrets. Everybody else: grab some popcorn, the comedy's about to begin.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not dependent on COM

They are adding new feature which will allow you to use COM if the SL is running on a Windows machine, but Silverlight itself is not going to depend on COM.

[zeke]

Miguel de Icaza whistles by the graveyard

>The added reliance on COM means Silverlight is becoming tied tighter to Windows, and it will >move away from parity with Silverlight for the Mac.

De Icaza and his cult following keep telling us that Moonligh isnt a few steps behind Silverlight even though its an eternal catch up game.

Luckily, when news like this hits, he relies on the classic plug your ears and shout really loud "Lalalalalalala!!" and then when youre finished, everything is fine.