Developers feel ‘betrayed’ by Microsoft’s Silverlight focus shift

by Pete Mason on 3 November 2010, 14:30

Tags: Silverlight, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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The saga continues

While we found nothing wrong with Microsoft's comments regarding the decision to shift focus away from Silverlight as a multi-platform solution, it hasn't sat quite so well with everyone. Many members of the development community have expressed their dissatisfaction with the move, prompting two Microsoft execs to weigh in on the matter.

At first, Bob Muglia - who gave the original interview that set the controversy in motion - chimed in to clarify his comments. He admitted that the statements may have "surprised people and caused controversy," but emphasised that even though the strategy and focus had shifted, this "isn't a negative statement, but rather, it's a comment on how the industry has changed and how we're adapting". He also tried to make it clear that Silverlight had always been designed to complement HTML and do things which that standard couldn't, rather than replace it.

Muglia obviously apologised, but unfortunately, the damage had been done, and his words did little to calm the masses.

Many members of the developer community fired back responses to Muglia's blog post, expressing feelings of disappointment and betrayal, as well as general sense of demoralisation and abandonment. Several specifically saw the post as a half-hearted attempt at "damage control" that didn't really address the issue at hand.

The stir has even caused Steve Ballmer to get involved. In a general wrap up of PDC2010, the CEO emphasised Microsoft's key technologies, with Silverlight featuring heavily. In fact, the technology is mentioned five times in the 400 word blog post, even though it wasn't mentioned at all in his PDC keynote. Across all of the first-day keynotes, Silverlight was only name-checked once, and even then it was in reference to Windows Phone 7, where the platform is in an important part of the development environment.

Microsoft seems to be backtracking quite hard, but as ever, actions speak louder than words. At this point, it seems that the company will have to show a strong commitment to the platform in order to reassure the community.



HEXUS Forums :: 19 Comments

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Nobody really knows what's going on at MS - is WPF the future? Silverlight? HTML5? Why are different teams using different technologies?
How could anyone be surprised about this? Despite all Microsoft's blustering about .Net/Silverlight being ‘multiplatform’, it's only true as long as it's a Microsoft platform.
(except for the moonlight port….)

Silverlight has good ideas, its not perfect but next to javascript and html its the fricken renasounce in computer form.

But Microsoft always strikes me as like a hurd of kittens, some of them are going the right way, and with that many kittens some would have to be by the stochastic nature.

WPF and Silverlight were ment to merge, that may still happen there are plenty of issues in WPF they were able to fix in silverlight, but the fact two technologies so similar can emerge from MS shows just how the seperate limbs do not talk.

HTML5 is bollocks for large scale apps, its a nightmare, its missing a lot of the concepts developers take for granted. It has its place and is an improvement, but yes, I'm going to really write this real time trading platform in HTML5 aren't I!?

When google docs is almost useable, then I might give a damn, but really, right now, no.

Also anyone who feels betrayed by their technology not been the favourate son needs to seriously evaluate their business model. VBA is still be supported ffs, and no one has liked that, ever!
Microsoft in no unified corporate strategy along with infighting and a lack of internal communication shocker!
MS are nothing more than the American version of BT these days. Steve Balmer needs to start whipping his company into shape.
badass
MS are nothing more than the American version of BT these days. Steve Balmer needs to start whipping his company into shape.

Or leave, and find someone competent as a replacement. Without scaring them off, Ray Ozzie style.