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Silverlight: What's it for?


JorgeA

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Hello,

My laptop just got notification from Microsoft that an "important" update for Silverlight is available for download.

This "Silverlight" thing has always been rather a mystery to me, with respect to what it is for, what it does, and what one would do with it. Wikipedia and other references I've found on the Web have not been particularly helpful, as they launch immediately into a sea of unfamiliar acronyms and highly technical language that leaves me even more confused than when I started.

I am not a programmer, a webmaster, a developer, or an IT professional. I am simply an end user with a higher-than-normal (my wife might say, abnormal) interest in computers, but by no means an expert. (That's why I keep coming to this Forum for guidance. :) ) Thus I have no clue as to whether I would have any use for Silverlight, or whether it's simply taking up space on my hard drive.

Tha main thing I want to know is: Is there any reason for me to download this Update, or can I cancel it and tell Microsoft not to nag me about it again? Can I search around my various PCs for Silverlight and eradicate it, or does it do something useful for ordinary PC users (and what is that)?

Thanks sincerely for whatever enlightenment you might offer to the uninitiated.

--JorgeA

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The best implementation ive seen, http://memorabilia.hardrock.com/

4 rows down, 12 over - zoom into the stamp

but that was done a year or two ago

This deepzoom site was pretty nice as well

http://www.xrez.com/yose_proj/yose_deepzoom/

now:

http://techrights.org/2010/08/23/silverlight-dying/

Edited by iamtheky
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@iamtheky

@5eraph

Thanks for the info and the links, they helped me to understand it better.

Maybe one reason Silverlight is "dying" (if it is, as suggested in one of the links) is that MS hasn't explained clearly what it's for, and why a regular end user should put it on their PC ?

Much appreciated!

--JorgeA

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If you have Silverlight installed you must install the important update otherwise you are vulnerable to web based attacks. So you have 2 options, remove it completely (should be in add/remove programs) or follow Microsoft's recommendation and install any updates that become available for it.

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I think Silverlight is just getting started. I believe it is going to be widely implemented with Windows Phone 7 coming later this year.

DigeratiPrime,

So maybe I should keep it after all. Thanks for the scoop.

--JorgeA

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If you have Silverlight installed you must install the important update otherwise you are vulnerable to web based attacks. So you have 2 options, remove it completely (should be in add/remove programs) or follow Microsoft's recommendation and install any updates that become available for it.

What's your sense -- do you think that Silverlight will become more widespread over time, or will it stay such a rare and obscure thing that we can just ignore it?

I guess the safest route is to update it and then delete the whole Silverlight package down the road if it looks like it's not going anywhere.

--JorgeA

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What's your sense -- do you think that Silverlight will become more widespread over time, or will it stay such a rare and obscure thing that we can just ignore it?

I guess the safest route is to update it and then delete the whole Silverlight package down the road if it looks like it's not going anywhere.

You should see it the other way round. ;)

Nowadays there are BIG disks.

Notwithstanding the amount of bloat that made basically the same OS get from 600 Mb (Win2K) to 1.5 Gb (XP) to 4 or more Gb (Vista :ph34r: and Windows 7), still disks have grown much more, so a lot of space in them is unused.

Silverlight is a very good way to occupy a relatively small number of sectors that would otherwise feel lonely/uncared for being all 00's (that's about the only practical use of it, short of increasing, as seen above, the chances your system is more vulnerable to web attacks). :angel

:lol:

I mean, the more things you add the more likely it is that they add vulnerability to your system, no matter how quick and effective will be updates, there will always be some chances that you get affected before the update, now having this risk is "reasonable" for something (an app, protocol, whatever) for which you have an actual use, it is much less so for something that you don't use, don't need or don't even know what's for.

The safest route is always NOT having something (anything that isn't there, cannot break) :).

jaclaz

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jaclaz,

Great to hear from you! :hello: Wow, you do get around this forum! ;)

Let me ask you something about Silverlight. In your estimation, is the use of Silverlight going to become more widespread in the coming months (or years)? Is the growth (if any) going to be an extremely slow process?

--JorgeA

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In your estimation, is the use of Silverlight going to become more widespread in the coming months (or years)? Is the growth (if any) going to be an extremely slow process?

Let me before express my opinion (this one founded) on the utter futility of your question. :w00t:

Unless you attribute me clairvoyancy related powers, WHAT actual reliability do you think can have the opinion of a Mr. Nobody on a board?

It's just like asking me if the next year Brand "X" new car Model "Y" will sell or not.

Here is a "trend report":

http://trends.builtwith.com/framework/Silverlight'>http://trends.builtwith.com/framework/Silverlight

Even IF the data is actually anywhere accurate AND IF you can see a pattern in it, ANY pattern :whistle: , HOW the heck do you think that anyone can do anything but a completely random forecast?

Here is a general report or current framework usage:

http://trends.builtwith.com/framework

The amount of Silverlight made sites found is currently negligible.

jaclaz

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In your estimation, is the use of Silverlight going to become more widespread in the coming months (or years)? Is the growth (if any) going to be an extremely slow process?

Let me before express my opinion (this one founded) on the utter futility of your question. :w00t:

Unless you attribute me clairvoyancy related powers, WHAT actual reliability do you think can have the opinion of a Mr. Nobody on a board?

jaclaz

Well, that's why I prefaced my question with, "In your estimation." Of course nobody can predict the future with certainty. But since you seem to keep very much on top of developments in the computing world, I did not think it was such an unreasonable question, and hoped that you might be able to offer an informed assessment. Maybe Silverlight is starting to gain momentum, and perhaps you had heard about that or had direct experience, I don't know -- that's why I asked.

Instead of laying on the sarcasm -- because, whether you intended it or not, that is how it came off -- you might have replied simply, "We just don't know." And I would have accepted that.

Sorry I asked.

Edited by JorgeA
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Well, that's why I prefaced my question with, "In your estimation." Of course nobody can predict the future with certainty. But since you seem to keep very much on top of developments in the computing world, I did not think it was such an unreasonable question, and hoped that you might be able to offer an informed assessment. Maybe Silverlight is starting to gain momentum, and perhaps you had heard about that or had direct experience, I don't know -- that's why I asked.

Instead of laying on the sarcasm -- because, whether you intended it or not, that is how it came off -- you might have replied simply, "We just don't know." And I would have accepted that.

Sorry I asked.

No prob :), you asked, I answered you :yes: , my personal estimation is:

Cannot compute - not enough data.

Or if you prefer:

a suffusion of yellow

Sorry if I seemed sarcastic, I actually meant to be pragmatic.

This might come handy for similar calculations ;):

http://www.thateden.co.uk/dirk/

jaclaz

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  • 3 weeks later...

Personally I hope it dies off; We need less proprietary content plugins, not more!

It's basically an attempt to take on Flash, but it's just stupid - being forced to install Flash to be able to access large parts of the web is bad enough, but I'll be damned if I help another proprietary content system get a foot hold. Why force everyone to install two plugins that do the exact same thing anyway?!

(Personally, I hope HTML5 kills off both of them...)

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