Xbox Elite Flips On the Silverlight

It's a smart move. Microsoft.com is one of the most visited sites on the Web. End users without the plug-in see an "Experience this in Silverlight" ribbon diagonally across the left-hand bottom of the Xbox 360 Elite graphic. Clicking the graphic leads to the game console's home page. Clicking the ribbon leads to a Sliverlight download.

Microsoft's challenge with Silverlight is distribution. The software is beta, which almost mandates voluntary downloads—and it is new, which means there are no built-up distribution channels as there are with Flash.

The visual experience isn't all that different from Flash, although Silverlight has much less latency in streaming. On my home DSL connection, Silverlight content starts nearly instantly.

The audio experience, in the Xbox ad and in other Silverlight demos, is better than most Flash content.

Microsoft typically uses its own technology, so Silverlight may start replacing Flash elsewhere on the company's Web properties—and soon. If Silverlight is going to be a Flash killer anywhere, it will be on Microsoft Web properties.

[Via Sean Alexander]

Related:

• Microsoft MIXes IT Up, Microsoft Watch, April 30, 2007
• Dynamic Languages Shine in Silverlight, eWEEK, April 30, 2007
• Microsoft's Dynamic Language Leaders Speak, eWEEK, April 30, 2007
• Microsoft Hopes to Turn a Silverlight on Flash, eWEEK, April 30, 2007
• Adobe Open-Source Move Sets Showdown with Microsoft, eWEEK, April 26, 2007
• The Google Quandary, Microsoft Watch, April 24, 2007
• Digital Media Bundling 2.0, Microsoft Watch, April 16, 2007
• Microsoft: Silverlight More Than a Flash, eWEEK, April 15, 2007
• Who Shot Windows Live?, Microsoft Watch, March 8, 2007
• Wanted: Dead or Live, Microsoft Watch, March 2, 2007
• Microsoft's Expression Means What?, Microsoft Watch, Jan. 16, 2007
• Gauging Microsoft's Expression, Microsoft Watch, Dec. 6, 2006