Netflix talks about the reality of video plugins, making specific mentions of browsers that don’t support them (Internet Explorer in Metro Mode, for example), as well as the security risk using plugins can pose. Moving to HTML5 from Silverlight will take care of these two issues, and will open up the ability to watch instant video via the service on a wider range of devices and browsers.

For now, Netflix is waiting to make the switch on what it calls three “premium video extensions”: Media Source Extensions, Encrypted Media Extensions, and Web Cryptography API. The company says it is working with industry leaders, and that these initiatives will be the solution to current issues with delivering video in the absense of a plugin like Silverlight.

The first iteration of this has been pushed out for the Samsung ARM-based Chromebook, which takes advantage of the Media Source Extensions and Encrypted Media Extensions in Chrome browser to deliver Silverlight-free video content. According to Netflix, Web Cryptography API isn’t in use on the Chromebook yet, instead being replaced with Netflix’s own Pepper Plugin API. The PPAPI plugin will be swapped out with WebCrypto when it is available via Chrome, at which point HTML5 video testing will start for OS X and Windows.

[via Netflix]

The new SkyDrive interface is now more streamlined with built-in Groups and the option to open up Word and Excel docs online or in their traditional desktop counterparts. Edits performed in both the online and desktop versions sync harmoniously. The SkyDrive also now acts more like a central hub for bringing together all your Windows Live files, documents, and photos instead of just a storage service running in the background.

Photos and videos are now viewed using HTML 5 and resizing and browsing are generally smoother thanks to CSS 3 transitions. The system still presents the familiar interface of a traditional file system, but now works a lot faster and takes better advantage of hardware acceleration and caching. Perhaps, in time, the interface may be streamlined to match the Windows Metro styling found in its Windows Phone UI. The recent Windows 8 demo and the revamped Xbox LIVE UI suggest Microsoft is heading this direction to unify and create a more cohesive ecosystem.

[via TechCrunch]

That’s because Windows Phone developers have already been coding apps for the mobile platform using Silverlight tools. Microsoft announced back in November 2010 that it intended to bring Silverlight – its Flash alternative – support to the 360, though failed to attach a specific timescale to the update.

The move is believed to be part of Microsoft’s play to push the Xbox 360 into the middle ground between smartphones and PCs. The company is also believed to be using the platform for a new range of STBs that would work with its Mediaroom IPTV platform, though it’s also been suggested that the Xbox could act as the STB instead.

Microsoft’s Silverlight team has apparently committed to a mid-April ship date of Silverlight 5, though the company will  also push ahead with HTML5. It will be particularly useful for Windows 8 developers coding apps for slates and tablets, with a new Metro-based UI tipped and a new application model called “Jupiter” that will allow for Silverlight-based apps distributed as AppX packages through a new Windows application store pre-loaded onto the updated OS.

Earlier this month, leaks suggested Microsoft was working on project Orapa, described as an “Xbox LIVE, Kinect & Mediaroom mash-up” which would use Mediaroom streaming content with avatar and Kinect control together with social networking and recommendations. Before that, a a “Santa Fe” Mediaroom/Silverlight set-top box was rumored, along with a “Silverlight system-on-a-chip” (SoC) implementation that could form the basis of third-party STB and Blu-ray player hardware with a Microsoft heart.

Gibbons’ involvement could suggest that Microsoft is now shopping a reference hardware specification around its OEM partners, or indeed heading a team of in-house designers putting together their own product. The company already has a foot in the living room thanks to Xbox 360 and its media extender functionality.

[via Business Insider]

Silverlight is Microsoft’s answer to Adobe’s Flash. Moonlight is Novell’s Open Source implementation of Silverlight, it’s available as a plugin for both Firefox and Chrome. You can pick up Moonlight from Novell’s mono-project website. The problem is, Moonlight doesn’t really work, as of course Microsoft won’t release the workings for the PlayReady DRM component into the open source community. Why does this matter for Netflix? The instant-streaming application isn’t Flash based like Hulu, Youtube, vimeo and pretty much every single other streaming site out there. Netflix’s service is implemented using Silverlight, leaving it currently out of the hands of the Linux desktop user. All of these services work wonderfully in both Chrome and Firefox on my system. Needless to say, I canceled my service the next day.

[via Tech Republic]

Meanwhile there’s an ongoing project to develop a Silverlight system-on-a-chip (SoC) implementation, which could potentially form the basis of a STB like Santa Fe, or indeed a Blu-ray player or HDTV. Microsoft has confirmed that “the Silverlight team is still actively working with a variety of key partners on SOCs” but will only say that it has “no new information to share at this time.”

Meanwhile, a new job advert for a Software Development Engineer on the Silverlight for Devices team calls for someone interested in taking “the great product that Silverlight has become and take it to a new space of TVs, Autos, Tablets, iPhones, Set Top Boxes, XBOX, and a host of other devices”:

“Internet TV is taking over the traditional TV steadily. One of the Microsoft mission goals is to provide a TV solution. Consumer media device (CMD) is one of the exciting products we are currently working on and we are looking for strong SDET to come in and help us deliver this product. The project vision is ‘Windows Embedded Powers TV worldwide’ and our mission is to provide both broadcast & internet content to meet future demands of consumer media devices.” Microsoft job advert

It’s unclear at this stage whether Microsoft envisages a STB running a Silverlight-powered Mediaroom, a version of the platform which runs on the SoC powering the Xbox 360, or OEM STBs and A/V devices hooked into an overall ecosystem of IPTV that can be accessed on PCs, Windows Phone devices and more.

Video demo after the cut

While we’ve seen integrations of Kinect and DIY apps before, this generic link promises to take the headache out of hooking up the Microsoft peripheral. The prototype they’ve thrown together uses hand gestures to navigate a TV UI, something that could be pretty useful if you’ve ever been given a headache by a button-encrusted remote control.

BLITZ is expected to release the code imminently, at which point we’re expecting a flood of Kinect-enabled HTPC apps. More details in the video below.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/18645886[/vimeo]

[via MAKE]

We’ll just start off with the “bad” news first, just to make sure we get it out of the way. As much as everyone is still holding out hope that the HTC HD2 is going to be upgraded from its current Windows Mobile 6.5 existence, we can now completely confirm that the HD2 is not getting updated. Furthermore, despite the rumors that OEMs would be able to determine whether or not their current generation models would be able to get updated to the new mobile Operating System, that rumor can now officially be squashed. It’s not happening. Microsoft is making a clean break from the previous iterations of their software, and doing so with no strings attached.

Microsoft is doing everything they can to remove a lot of the barriers and other blockades that was preventing previous developers out there from creating applications for their Windows Phone 7 Series platform. New tools will be introduced with the already set-in-stone tools available to developers, making it completely possible that new devs can just jump right in and start making the highest class products, right out of the gate. And as we mentioned in earlier posts throughout the day, these applications can be developed in record time, and have the same high quality that consumers have come to expect.

The Windows Phone Marketplace is going to be a vibrant digital store front, with the applications being the most important part. As you make your way through the Marketplace, you’ll download what you want, and watch as the applications of that same nature are shown to you on the go. Are you fond of a particular style of game? The Marketplace is going to show you the other titles in that particular style, just to make sure that you enjoy your experience. And speaking of games, where trial periods are a well known feature, the developers are able to determine just how long a particular trial period will last. Whether that means you get to play the first level for free, or continue on until you’ve accomplished a particular goal, is completely up to the developer. Furthermore, while some applications may become static and forgotten on other systems, an application or game title in the Windows Phone 7 Series platform will always be able to be found easily, and be promoted by the developer with push notifications. Have an update for a game you’ve forgotten about? The developer can let you know with a simple push notification.

Ads are still going to be be prevalent within the application marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series. Developers can utilize their own advertisement network, so that they can promote something that they wish to promote. Anyone can bring their own model for advertisement, if they wish. Microsoft, though, has created their own advertisement model, which promotes other applications within the Windows Phone Marketplace, and showcases other paid apps. Basically, to keep the pay ecosystem going strong. The Windows Phone Marketplace is currency-based, as well, which should be good news for people who have been fed-up with Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE points system. Consumers can tie their Windows Live account (which means you can use Xbox LIVE, Hotmail, or any other Microsoft-based service) with a credit card, and pay for applications directly in that fashion. A Live account is required, though. And, thankfully, the credit card and applications are tied to the account, and not the phone.

Updates for applications are pushed to the device, meaning you’ll never miss an update. Additionally, if the application is part of the core element of the Windows Phone 7 Series, like an Xbox LIVE arcade game, then that push notification would be displayed on the Game Hub. Updates to third-party applications happen in two ways: the toaster method, which means that you get a pop-up notification that an application can be updated; or users can be notified of an available update when they enter into an application. These are determined by the developer, and will be different for each application.

The full policies of application development and all the extra information will be available in May, when Microsoft releases that information officially.

Finally, the Windows Phone Marketplace will be the majority rule for downloading applications to your Windows Phone 7 Series device. Meaning, you can’t side-load a lot of the applications. Except that, you’ll be able to do some “big screen” shopping from your desktop client, such as the Zune Software that syncs your device with your PC. You will be able to buy them from the PC, and then they will syncronize with your device when you connect it.

With rumors coming out that Microsoft is hard at work on the next version of the Zune HD, we wanted to know if Microsoft has any plans to make an optimized version of Windows Phone 7 Series available for any other “mobile” platform. They ceremoniously said that they haven’t announced any future version of the Zune HD, but they did add that the Windows Phone 7 Series User Interface is obviously pulling a lot of design elements from the Zune HD. So, take that for what it’s worth.

The big difference between the Windows Phone Marketplace and the Apple App Store is going to be the transparent screening process. While the rules for the development process for the App Store may not be so clearly defined, Microsoft is going to make sure that everyone who wants to develop for the Windows Phone 7 Series platform knows exacty what they need to do to get published. If they follow those rules, and don’t stray far from the scope, then they’ll get approved. As of right now, there won’t be any mature-rated material found in the Windows Phone Marketplace, but that’s because they don’t have any parental controls in place. As soon as that changes, then the Marketplace may begin to reflect those changes.

As we mentioned previously, developers get 70% of revenue when their application is bought within the Windows Phone Marketplace. When asked about returns, Microsoft made it clear that they do allow refunds for Windows Mobile 6.x, and that that is going to stick around for Windows Phone 7 Series. As for returns that do occur, the developer gets only 70% of the return price, and Microsoft would keep the difference. Developers will not be charged for updating their software, and developers are only charged the $99 a year for the ability to release applications. The development software is free, and will always be free. Additionally, developers are able to release 5 applications, before they are charged $99 for any additional applications they want to release. Obviously, not many developers go over that 5 application threshold. Developers can release one of their apps they’ve already released as many times as they want in the Marketplace, and have the ability to update their application an unlimited amount of times.

MIX10 is still going strong, and there’s still a lot of information to sift through. Hopefully this in-depth interview has brought answers to a lot of the questions you may have, but if you have more, feel free to let us know in the comments. And, if you’re a developer that plans to bring applications to the Windows Phone Marketplace, we want to hear from you in the comments. Are you excited about what Microsoft is doing? What are some of the applications you can’t wait to see, or are going to build yourself?

And lastly, if you want to join the discussion about Windows Phone 7 Series, sign-up over at Windows Phone Forums!

The tools the Olympic broadcast technicians used include the Silverlight player, but also the ability to dynamically inject adverts into the stream.  Silverlight 4 RC will now support full-screen HD playback in a multi-monitor setup, something Microsoft say no other streaming video system can do.  There’s also integration with Microsoft Expression Blend 4 Beta, which allowed eBay to design their Silverlight auction app, for instance, using Sketchflow.  The final release of Silverlight 4 is expected next month.

As for Windows Phone 7 series, Microsoft have confirmed that developers will be able to use the hardware’s accelerator, multitouch display, camera and microphone, as well as using Microsoft’s Notification Service and Location Service.  The former will give developers a way to push information to the smartphone, whether or not the related app is actually running, while the latter provides a single point from which to source location information.  Finally there’s also Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming for digital delivery of content together with support for DRM.  We’re expecting to hear more about these things as MIX 2010 progresses.

Confirmed software partners for Windows Phone 7 series’ launch include Associated Press, WeatherBug, Citrix, EA Mobile, Fandango, Foursquare, frog design, IMDb.com, Match.com , Microsoft Game Studios, Namco, Pandora, Photobucket, PopCap Games, Seesmic, Shazam, Sling Media, SPB Software and Vertigo Software among others (check out the full list in the press release below).

They’re using the new, free tools for Windows Phone 7 series development:

• Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone
• Windows Phone 7 Series add-in to use with Visual Studio 2010 RC
• XNA Game Studio 4.0
• Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing
• Expression Blend for Windows Phone Community Technology Preview (which will also be available as a separate download)

Apps can be distributed through the Windows Phone Marketplace, with a 70/30 revenue split in the developers’ favor.  Microsoft have also scythed away some of the secondary fees previously involved, and students will get more discounts or even free submissions.  The new Marketplace slots into the Marketplace Hub, complete with gaming and carrier-specific offerings.  We’ll be bringing you more from MIX 2010 as it develops.

Press Release:

Microsoft Outlines New Opportunities at MIX10 for Developers to Create Compelling Experiences

Unveils end-to-end development platform with free tools for Windows Phone 7 Series and advances with Silverlight that will bring new applications, games and experiences to life.

LAS VEGAS — March 15, 2010 — Today at MIX10, Microsoft Corp. showcased advancements in its platform technologies that enable the developer and designer community to deliver compelling user experiences across a broad set of devices. Building on the excitement of the recently announced Windows® Phone 7 Series, Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, .NET Developer Platform, and Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president, Windows Phone Program Management, detailed the opportunity for developers to use proven technologies such as Microsoft Silverlight and the XNA Framework to build new mobile applications and 3-D Games.

“As the browser, server, Web and devices evolve, a focus on delivering consistently great user experiences has become paramount,” Guthrie said. “By extending our familiar platform technologies and tools to phones, Microsoft is delivering the premier application development experience across a variety of devices and form factors.”

End-to-End Application Development Platform for Windows Phone 7 Series

During the keynote, Microsoft provided the first deep dive into Windows Phone 7 Series application development. By combining Silverlight features for rich application development and the XNA Framework for games, Windows Phone 7 Series empowers millions of developers and designers to build visually stunning and immersive applications and games — one of the industry’s most profitable mobile application categories — while taking advantage of device-specific capabilities. Specifically, developers will be able to take advantage of the following features:

•Accelerometer, an intuitive control that responds to motion
•A Microsoft Location Service to provide developers with a single point of reference to acquire location information
•Microsoft Notification Service for pushing information to the phone, regardless of whether or not an application is running
•Hardware-accelerated video with digital rights management (DRM)
•Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming for the industry’s highest quality content viewing experience
•Multitouch
•Camera and microphone support

“Windows Phone 7 Series brings together a rich application environment, powerful hardware, a fresh approach to software and a smart new design,” Belfiore said. “It was designed to generate incredible opportunities for developers and designers to quickly and easily deliver compelling applications and games. With the best developer tools, an established ecosystem and marketplace, and a path for developers to use their Silverlight and XNA Framework skill sets, we are delivering an application platform that is simple, powerful and inspiring.”

Free Tools for Windows Phone 7 Series Developers and Designers

To further support an end-to-end development experience, Microsoft announced the availability of comprehensive tools support for Windows Phone 7 Series. The easy-to-install package includes previews of the following:

•Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone
•Windows Phone 7 Series add-in to use with Visual Studio 2010 RC
•XNA Game Studio 4.0
•Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing
•Expression Blend for Windows Phone Community Technology Preview (available as a separate download)

A Marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series Applications

Microsoft also showed how developers and designers will be able to bring applications and games to market with a new Windows Phone Marketplace. The Marketplace features a panoramic design and active merchandising to increase the discoverability of games and applications, and supports one-time credit card purchases, mobile operator billing and advertising-funded applications. The Marketplace will also enable customers to try applications before buying them and allow developers to cross-promote their applications through deep linking.

Several leading companies will be creating exciting applications and games for Windows Phone 7 Series. They include The Associated Press, Archetype International Inc., AWS Convergence Technologies – WeatherBug, Citrix Systems Inc., Clarity Consulting Inc., Cypress Consulting, EA Mobile, Fandango Inc., Foursquare Labs Inc., frog design inc., Glu Mobile Inc., Graphic.ly, Hudson Entertainment Inc., IdentityMine Inc., IMDb.com Inc., Larva Labs, Match.com LLC, Matchbox Mobile Ltd., Microsoft Game Studios, Namco Networks America Inc., Oberon Media Inc., Pageonce Inc., Pandora Media Inc., Photobucket Inc., PopCap Games Inc., Seesmic, Shazam Entertainment Ltd., Sling Media, SPB Software Inc., stimulant, TeleCommunications Systems Inc., Touchality LLC and Vertigo Software Inc.

Continued Innovation With Silverlight and Expression Blend

Microsoft announced a release candidate (RC) for Silverlight 4, available for download today, which builds on the beta version released at the Professional Developers Conference in November 2009. The Silverlight 4 RC provides powerful media and enterprise application and media capabilities, out-of-browser flexibility and world-class tools support via Visual Studio and Expression Blend with Sketchflow to enable robust application development and rich interactive experiences.

In addition, Microsoft unveiled the Expression Blend 4 Beta, a design and development workflow tool. New features such as Path Layout enable developers and designers to build and animate innovative user interface design via a groundbreaking visual layout mechanism, without the need to write code. Expression Blend 4 Beta also adds support for Silverlight 4, .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010.

Silverlight Customer Adoption

Silverlight adoption has continued at a rapid pace with installations approaching 60 percent of all Internet devices worldwide — an increase of nearly 15 percentage points in just four months. Customers such as Major League Soccer, BBC, eBay Inc., Netflix Inc., NBCOlympics.com and CT Corp., a Wolters Kluwer business, demonstrated how they are taking advantage of the power of Silverlight to deliver compelling consumer and enterprise experiences.

“Microsoft Silverlight technology will be the backbone of the video platform on our newly launched MLSsoccer.com,” said Chris Schlosser, director of digital strategy for Major League Soccer. “Our work with Microsoft allows us to launch cutting-edge digital and mobile experiences for our loyal fans. As part of our increased focus on digital media, we view a rich video experience as absolutely critical to accomplishing our goal of ‘super serving’ MLS supporters.”

All the latest from MIX10 is available at http://live.visitmix.com/press, including downloads of tools for Windows Phone 7 Series, the Silverlight 4 RC and Expression Blend 4 Beta, which will be available today.

Like Marketplace for Mobile, Windows Phone Marketplace will offer developers from thirty countries a single on-device way to distribute their titles.  The revenue share rate is set at 70-percent – in the devs’ favor – and is accompanied by the Marketplace Hub on Windows Phone 7 series devices themselves.

As for Silverlight 4 RC, that will be accompanied by a new, free Windows Phone Developer Tools package from developer.windowsphone.com.  Expression Blend for Windows Phone and a preview of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone will be also included as part of the download.  There’ll also be a CTP for Expression Blend 4 for Windows Phone, bringing the same project management tools that Silverlight and .Net developers have been used to – including Behaviors, sample data and the visual state manager – to WP7 development.

You can follow along with the MIX 2010 keynotes and other content by visiting live.visitmix.com.  SlashGear is also at the event, and we’ll be highlighting anything interesting we spot, so keep reading over the next few days!

The common assumption was that arcade games would just work on the 7 Series devices. You’d be able to shop from the same Marketplace, and you’d have your Gamerscore updated as you accomplished the necessary Achievements. All the standard material. But, as Eric Rudder showcases here at the TechEd Middle East conference, it goes beyond that. He shows us that he starts an arcade-style game, based on the popular fiction character Indiana Jones, from his computer. But then he tells us that when he needs to leave work, he can move the game (which has saved his level (approximately)) to his 7 Series device and play it on the bus on the way home.

Here’s the kicker though. Let’s say you love this Indiana Jones arcade game, and when you get home you wish you could just pick up where you left off, but on your big screen. That’s exactly what happens. Rudder then shows the same game, saved from your last save point, and playing on the Xbox 360. Seamless. Frankly, it just works. The fact that the XNA, Silverlight, and .NET framework all come into play here is paramount, and this video shows us that games are about to change in a big way.

[via Windows-Phone]

The news comes courtesy of Charlie Kindel, on Microsoft’s Windows Phone developer experience team, who in the process confirms that applications written for Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and earlier versions won’t be compatible with the new platform.  Kindel says that Microsoft will be supporting these devices “for many years to come”, though it’s obvious that the company expects devs to jump on board with Windows Phone 7.

“The expertise and familiarity with our tools is not lost. If you are a .NET developer today your skills and much of your code will move forward. If you are Silverlight or XNA developer today you’re gonna be really happy. New developers to the platform will find a cohesive, well designed API set with super productive tools.” Charlie Kindel, Microsoft

Apparently Microsoft have been meeting with hundreds of developers and ISVs over the past year to find out exactly what they want from a platform, and almost 70-percent prioritised “ease of use”.  Of course, we’d also guess that they look at the potential for success that a platform faces – contrast, say, iPhone OS development versus Palm’s webOS as it stands currently – but Microsoft seem like a pretty reasonable bet there, too.  More at MIX 2010, we’re told.

RIM wants to put [em]Full[/em] Flash on their upcoming devices, and not what’s already floating around, or even Open Screen Project’s Mobile Flash 10. They want to bring the experience to their customers, and to do that, they’re hoping you’ll give them time. That’s right: a lot of time. RIM made note that they don’t have the handset strength to bring their dreams to the table, and won’t be close until next summer, or right before it. Not only that, they’re saying that until the carries permanently beef up to the next generation of networks, it won’t happen. Meaning, RIM is waiting until HSPA and LTE are up and running, before they bring their full Flash support to the game.

This makes sense, of course, considering loading a flash-heavy webpage on even a 3G connection is a pretty woeful experience, and RIM doesn’t want to do that to its customers. So, it looks like we’ll have to wait until 2010 to get our hands on any real web browsing experience on our BlackBerry devices. But that’s not too bad. Especially if Verizon can keep up with that whole 30-market LTE launch date they’re so proud of.

[via Engadget]