The web is becoming a little less proprietary and we have Microsoft, of all people, to thank for it. After announcing they’re moving Live Spaces to WordPress and that Outlook 2011 would render in Webkit, they’ve done another 180 and now President Bob Muglia announced in an interview with Mary Jo Foley that their push for Silverlight in browsers is coming to an end.
“Silverlight is our development platform for Windows Phone… our strategy has shifted… HTML is the only true cross platform solution for everything, including (Apple’s) iOS platform.”
Since when has Microsoft ever cared about what Apple was doing? Where is my cut throat it’s the Microsoft way or nothing giant that I’ve loved and worshiped since I was 10 years old?
In all seriousness, Microsoft has really dedicated a lot of resources towards promoting HTML5 and other open technologies in Internet Explorer 9, and that’s a good thing. Something seems to be changing in the culture at Redmond, which honestly is a welcomed theme. As they lose their position as the largest and most powerful technology company on the planet, it’s good to see them deciding to share and play well with others, and maybe realize they don’t have to be compete at everything, and just do a few things really well.