General Discussion - Will Silverlight be a Flash Killer? kasselbiddy - Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:45 pm Post subject: Will Silverlight be a Flash Killer?
With the release of Silverlight 3.0, many are speculating that Microsoft is angling to beat out Adobe Flash (SWF to AVI converter), Flex, and Air as a rich content delivery platform. But can Silverlight really beat out Flash?
One thing's for sure: you can't beat a free development platform for Silverlight, especially when even the student edition of Flash (SWF to iMovie) CS4 costs several hundred dollars. But the advantage overlooks the hidden costs: larger Silverlight projects may have to be built in Microsoft Visual Studio, which can hit quadruple digits in cost.
However, it's hard to really compare Flash (SWF to MP3 converter) and Silverlight fairly when they run in overlapping spheres, but aren't really the same type of application with the same target usage. Flash is a multimedia delivery program; so is Silverlight, but the similarity ends there. Flash is used best as a content creation tool, meant to support online content delivered by other methods - whether it's base HTML, XML, AJAX, or any number of content delivery standards. Flash content even ports well to television, making it a viable tool for studio animation.
Silverlight is more of a presentation tool. If Flash is the content, Silverlight is the container and the mode of delivery. In this Silverlight goes beyond Flash, as it offers more features for delivering rich web content as a single package rather than a conglomeration of different content delivery methods (as we all know Flash is a pain with text, SEO, links, etc.; Silverlight overcomes these obstacles in version 3.0). I might use Silverlight to create an interactive presentation, video player, or website for use online or even on a projection screen. But for the actual creative side, building graphics and animation and content, I'd turn to Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, Premiere. That's the difference between a rich internet application platform and a web animation program.
Silverlight tries to combine the creative delivery of Flash with the application development capabilities of Air and Flex. It can't. While it may meet Adobe head-on in the RIA arena and provide stiff competition for Air and Flex, when it comes to rich content creation Silverlight just can't match Flash. So no, it's not a Flash killer. Maybe with future developments and enhancements it might be.