Silverlight for Linux : Moonlight 1.0 almost complete
Submitted by srlinuxx on Tue, 12/02/2008 - 16:59.
The beta version of Moonlight 1.0 is now available to download as a Firefox plug-in. The application, is the Linux version of Microsoft's rival to Flash, Silverlight. It makes it possible to play files such as WMV files under Linux.
Novell has been granted access to Microsoft specifications and to multimedia codecs and test tools for the project. It was originally announced at the second anniversary of its interoperability agreement with Microsoft.
Why?
I have an uneasy feeling about installing anything that's been touched by Microsoft.
Regarding WMV files, it's just a format that Microsoft invented trying to catch up to the well established Adobe FLV. This is typical of Microsoft, just as they tried to catch up to MP3 and AAC audio with WMA. If you download videos, it is probably the least popular format. WMA doesn't seem to have caught on either.
Of course this is just my personal opinion. If others feel that Moonlight is a significant contribution I would like to know WHY???
That's why
Moonlight can support any media-codec BTW, it's not restricted to WMV. The most popular versions will simply integrate ffmpeg.
Flash is closed-source, commercial software; a no-go.