今天，在美国拉斯维加斯召开的全美广播协会(National Association of Broadcasters)会议上，微软宣布了其为了Windows、Web以及设备上创建富媒体、丰富交互性的战略。作为此战略的最要一步，微软在今天正式宣布将其WPF/E (Code name)定名为Microsoft SilverLight。

Microsoft SilverLight(代码名称: WPF/E)是微软即将推出的跨浏览器、跨平台的解决方案。SilverLight的特性如下：

Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform solution for building the next generation of rich media and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web, Windows and devices.

·         Unparalleled media-rich experiences and applications on the Web incorporating video, interactivity, and application-level experiences that can reach the whole web with a lightweight browser plug-in.

·         Robust vector-based graphics and overlays support enabling seamless integration of graphics that scale to any size, and broadcast-style overlays for tickers, captioning, and interactivity.

·         Unmatched video and audio quality from HD to mobile with WMV, Microsoft’s backwards-compatible implementation of the SMPTE[i] VC-1 standard, tap into a broad ecosystem of tools, servers and solutions, with an industry-recognized video format.

·         Up to 15x faster video encoding w/ hardware acceleration with Expression Media Encoder and a simple add-in board from partner and Intel spinoff Tarari, addressing a key industry need for faster time to market. 

·         Mobile device support as announced, Silverlight clients will be available on multiple platforms, will extend experiences, code reuse, and be capable of connecting seamlessly to the Web on a variety of platforms to be announced later.

·         Integration with existing Web technologies and assets means Silverlight works with any web server or distribution platform natively. No need to “rip and replace” your existing site designs, Silverlight seamlessly integrates alongside or with your existing web site designs, even Adobe Flash.

·         Consistent presentation on Web and Desktop enabling lower cost development by using XAML, the same presentation language found in .NET 3.0 and Windows Vista. Controls, icons, and other elements can be resized and presented with full fidelity in web-based and desktop applications. 

·         Standards-based and proven development technologies including ASP.NET AJAX and .NET 3.0 so that developers can use standards based and/or mature Microsoft technologies to create Web-based experiences that are seamlessly enhanced with Microsoft Silverlight.   Take existing standards/AJAX based applications and enhance the presentation with richer graphics and media and improve the power and performance using .NET.  (Full details at MIX 07)

·         Broad tools support and ecosystem for designers and developers, that tap into Web standards and the breadth of Microsoft’s application platform features:

o    For Designers, Expression Design and Expression Blend for creating consistent and reusable rich interfaces.  Expression Web for W3C standards-compliant site development using modern tools including XHTML, XML, XSLT, CSS and ASP.NET.

o    For Developers, Visual Studio-based support for web standards development including ASP.NET AJAX with full IntelliSense editing for client and server code, powerful cross-platform debugging, and rich language support for JavaScript, C#, VB, Ruby, Python and more. 

·         Simple, in-place installer for Silverlight browser plug-in means that as consumers encounter a page that uses Silverlight, they get a seamless, painless, and fast install experience under 2MB in size.

·         Flexible Ad-insertion solutions with video & animation including ability to deliver broadcast-style video or animated advertisements without loss of visual fidelity or motion quality, both complaints of technologies available today.

·         Lower-cost media streaming with Emmy®-award winning Windows Media Technologies which can provide up to 46% lower cost of streaming delivery, and the flexibility to connect to existing Windows Media streaming deployments. Even further reductions possible when compared to previous Windows Server versions with the upcoming IIS Media Pack for Windows Server code-name “Longhorn”.

·         Content Access Protection technology compatible with Microsoft’s industry leading content access technologies, enabling a broad spectrum of business models such as subscription, rental, pay-per-view, and preview scenarios with full feature parity on Windows and Mac.

New tools to speed encoding, publishing of media-enabled experiences with Microsoft Expression Media Encoder, optimized for live and on-demand scenarios, Expression Media Encoder is capable of hardware-accelerated encoding up to 15x faster than software alone when paired with a Tarari Accelerator board on a client or server.