NBA adopts SilverLight
In another win for Microsoft SilverLight the NBA is going to use the software to send video content to its users. With the huge user base that the NBA web site has, this is a win on par with the BBC using SilverLight for their video delivery system.
According to NBA vice president of interactive Steve Grimes, SilverLight will allow the NBA to deliver higher-quality video highlights on its Web site — an ongoing challenge with fast-moving basketball action — without having to eliminate applications it is already running with Adobe’s versatile Flash software. Source: Broadcasting and Cable
With all the HD (High Definition) content that is being developed, having a higher quality of images and video being delivered to a customer is becoming very important. Nothing against Adobe Air, but we are not hearing about big wins with the Air platform in the same way that we are hearing about the adoption of SilverLight.
To check out other examples of SilverLight web sites, go to the SilverLight Showcase web site. It does require that SilverLight be installed on your computer. The install will also require a browser reboot to see it. In all, with some 94-showcase applications, SilverLight is some very cool software.
The best one though is the Halo 3 interactive game guide, but then you knew that there had to be something for Microsoft Game Studios in SilverLight somewhere on the internet.
Just as a clarification, BBC will be using Flash for its iPlayer and on its website at bbc.co.uk. See the announcement here: http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200710/101507adobebbc.html
Also, comparing adoption of AIR and Silverlight is like comparing apples and oranges. Silverlight is more of a competitor to Flash, which runs in the browser. Currently Microsoft does not have a competitor to AIR on the desktop, which is a cross platform runtime for building desktop applications using HTML, Ajax, Flash, or Flex. To see some more examples of AIR applications in development, see this list: http://airapps.pbwiki.com/FrontPage.
Anyways, I enjoy your blog. Hopefully this will just provide some clarification.
Daniel Dura
Platform Evangelist
Adobe