Microsoft ready for Silverlight's second act
Microsoft on Monday announced that it is ready with a final version of Silverlight 2.
Silverlight 2 will be available for download starting Tuesday (US time), Microsoft said. Among the new features are support for digital rights management technology, improved cross-platform support and deep zoom technology. Microsoft also announced a range of new partners including AOL, Blockbuster, CBS College Sports, Toyota, and Yahoo Japan.
Microsoft also disclosed some numbers for the Olympics work it did with NBC. Over a 17-day period, Microsoft said NBCOlympics.com had more than 50 million unique visitors, resulting in 1.3 billion page views, 70 million video streams, and 600 million minutes of video watched. Overall, Microsoft said the Olympics helped boost Silverlight's U.S. penetration by 30 percent, the software maker said.
