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Microsoft has, to the best of my knowledge, agreed to allow any user (no matter what distro) to use Moonlight+MSCodecs in any browser. However, they do not allow anyone to use their codecs outside of Moonlight hosted within a browser. That is the only restriction afaik. "

Microsoft is just pretending to be open with Silverlight. When Microsoft announced Silverlight, their claim to it being cross-platform was based on the fact that it could be used on windows or Mac. Their omission of Linux was pointed and quite deliberate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Silverlight#Criticism

"The Mono team is currently developing a free and open-source implementation of the Silverlight runtime which they named Moonlight. The project is officially supported by Microsoft who, under an agreement with Novell, has made available the specifications, beyond what has been made publicly available, and test cases to the Mono team. The Mono team also has access to the Silverlight Base Class Library APIs which other developers do not have access to. Microsoft will also provide binary codecs for use in Moonlight. Moonlight targets both version 1.0 as well as 2.0 of Silverlight."

...

"Microsoft has also been criticized for not using the Scalable Vector Graphics standard for Silverlight, which, according to Ryan Paul of Ars Technica, is consistent with Microsoft's ignoring of open standards in other products, as well. However, according to David Betz, an independent .NET technologies specialist, Microsoft would have needed to alter the SVG specification to add .NET integration and UI constructs on top of SVG to make it suitable for scenarios Silverlight uses markup for (UI and vector markup, by default). Consequently, he thinks the "choice by Microsoft to use XAML over SVG, served to retain the SVG standard by not adding proprietary technology [to extend SVG]".

Typical. Hide bits of the spec. Hide bits of the API. Make some vital pieces available as binary blobs only.

Pointedly ignore any open standard. Use something invented by Microsoft instead, with the express intention of adding Microsoft-proprietary hooks into it.

Then pretend it is open, and try to get the whole world to use it, so that everything depends on Microsoft-proprietary technology, especially in areas that are currently supposed to be platform neutral.

... eg. binary codecs aren't going to be any use when trying to run Moonlight under Linux on a PS3 or a Sun Sparc or a Linksys router or NAS, for example, are they?

This way, all other platforms become lesser platforms, incapable of doing most things because they are not blessed by Microsoft (and they pay Microsoft no dues).

To hell with Microsoft. Avoid Silverlight and Moonlight and related technologies like XAML like the plague. Use the open equivalents instead, such as JavaFX, SVG ... even flash has recently become open enough to allow unencumbered implementation by any party.

The really disappointing thing about Moonlight and similar efforts (eg. Mono) is that it is well-intentioned FOSS authors who are walking straight into the mire of Microsoft's encumberances, apparently with very effective blinkers firmly in place.

Edited 2008-05-16 02:23 UTC