Microsoft will release the beta version of the Silverlight 2 browser plug-in.

January February 24, Microsoft Developers Department General Manager Scott Guthrie disclosed in a Microsoft blog on Friday (February 22) that Microsoft will Release "Silverlight 2" Browser Plug-in technology Test . This test version will emphasize a wide range of Internet Application Program Development capability. A Microsoft spokesman explained later that this blog is the most detailed information Microsoft provided so far on the "Silverlight 2" technology.

Microsoft will use the Silverlight platform to compete with Adobe and its popular Flash technology in a wide range of Internet applications. Microsoft's mix08 conference in Las Vegas within two weeks may be where the beta software was released, because Silverlight started to attract people's attention at last year's mix07 conference. Microsoft representatives do not want to comment on whether the incident will happen. However, Microsoft's representative admitted that Microsoft will release the Silverlight 2 test in the first quarter of this year.

According to Guthrie, Silverlight 2 is a cross-platform, cross-browser. NET Framework. Developers can use VB, C #, JavaScript, ironpython, ironruby, and other. NET languages to write Silverlight applications. Microsoft plans to work in Visual Studio 2008 and expression Studio Tools Provide the Silverlight Workflow And integration support.

Analysts said that the launch of Silverlight 2 is very important for Microsoft to compete with Adobe. Rob Helm, analyst at the independent research institute directions on Microsoft, said it was programmed using the. NET Framework, so it could take advantage of all Microsoft's developer tools. Developer Tools will become a secret weapon of Microsoft, because many people are familiar with Microsoft's Visual Studio and. Net frameworks.

Guthrie said that Silverlight 1.0 emphasizes more videos. Silverlight 2 adds. NET development and processing capabilities. To enhance Internet application development, the first test release of Silverlight will include the "Windows Presentation Foundation UI" Framework for Internet applications. It provides a powerful graphics and animation engine to support higher levels of performance, such as controls, layout management, data binding, and template skins. The download capacity of the first test release is 4.3 MB.

Guthrie says that after "Silverlight 2" is installed, you can browse the network and automatically run rich Silverlight applications in your browser. This software supports browsers such as IE, Firefox, and safari.