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In the past, Microsoft Silverlight was shipped out-of-band and did not take a Support Lifecycle typical of many Microsoft products. To clarify the Support Lifecycle situation for customers, Silverlight will be defined as a “Tool”.

A “Tool” is defined as a utility or feature that aids in accomplishing a discrete task or a limited set of tasks. Major Tool versions receive a minimum of 12 months notification prior to the end of support. Otherwise, support ends contemporaneously with the product versions for which they are intended (for example, Microsoft Windows).

It was an impressive demonstration, once they got it working: H.264 video streaming wirelessly (and slowly, at least during the caching sequence) using Microsoft's Silverlight video streaming, to an Apple iPhone. It's all the more impressive when you realize that Flash video still has not made its way (permanently) to the iPhone, not for any technical reasons we know of...simply because Apple wants to control the video channel for streaming media to its devices.

Scott Guthrie is excited to announce a new program of Microsoft – WebsiteSpark.

WebsiteSpark is designed for independent web developers and web development companies that build web applications and web sites on behalf of others.  It enables you to get software, support and business resources from Microsoft at no cost for three years, and enables you to expand your business and build great web solutions using ASP.NET, Silverlight, SharePoint and PHP, and the open source applications built on top of them.

Microsoft has a new site - Thrive for Developers, which purpose is to help developers advance in their careers, enhance their skills, and connect with a developer community.

We’ve heard from lots of developers that times are tough. You’re doing more with less, applying your skills more broadly, and maybe even learning new tools. That’s why we created Thrive – a one-stop community hub that offers job postings, technical content, and community resources. So whether you’re seeking new ways to differentiate yourself on the job, or you need to re-tool your skills for that next big role, Thrive has the resources to help you get there faster.

I checked my automatic Microsoft updates today and one of them was Internet Explorer 8. This update is good news because IE 8 includes Silverlight. It means a lot more people will be able to experience SL applications. Very good move from Microsoft. 

Exploring the world via this application allows you to discover just how many programs are in effect.  A few of the stories include photos and videos providing a more visual feel for the activity.

At Dr. Z's Blog there is an announcement that Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight v2.0, including the Stock Trader Reference Implementation, is available to download at the MSDN and Codeplex site. 

The Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight is designed to help you more easily build enterprise-level Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) client applications. This guidance will help you design and build flexible composite client applications-composite applications use loosely coupled, independently evolvable pieces that work together in the overall application.

Ben Waggoner blogged about the new whitepaper “Silverlight Migration Guide: Upgrading Your Windows Media Player Online Experiences.” published at Streamingmedia.com. The authors are Xavier Pouyat, Deployment Program Manager and Alex Zambelli, Media Technology Evangelist.