can you install microsoft silverlight on ipad2?

How would Apple "address" this supposed issue? Microsoft has shown no interest at all in developing a version of Silverlight for iDevices and they are slowly letting Silverlight fade away.

The first step is allowing third party to run in Safari on iOS. I strongly disagree with your statement that MS is allowing Silverlight to "fade away". They just release Silverlight 5 and it's laden with cool features. Silverlight is already a more powerful and stable platform than Flash. For the record, I'm an Apple fan. That's why I care about this topic...I see all of the undeveloped potential in the devices being held back by Apple's proprietary nature. A previous poster had it right. It's all just holding out to secure market share, which they already dominate, and limit exposure to unintended technical issues inherent to allowing third party plug-ins. Rather than work with the third parties to integrate reliably, they're just locked out cold.

deggie wrote:

How would Apple "address" this supposed issue? Microsoft has shown no interest at all in developing a version of Silverlight for iDevices and they are slowly letting Silverlight fade away.

1. Allow browser Add-ins from certified sources (that's how it's currently done on OSX, Linux, Windows)

2. Don't block development tools from other companies

Silverlight is more or less EOL, but not because Microsoft wanted that to be the case ... the technology was killed primarily because of Apple who are using "security" as a false excuse. Yet Apple freely install their add-ons in IE9, Chrome, Firefox like QuickTime and Microsoft doesn't "Block" Apple. If you think this is somehow "fair" then you obviously don't subscribe to logic.

Rob

Silverlight is not EOL because of Apple. It is EOL because it could not compete with Adobe Flash. Show me where MS made any effort to put Silverlight in any form on an iDevice or where MS has made any kind of complaint.

Silverlight is one of many technologies Microsoft has released with great fanfare and then when it didn't immediately succeed gave lukewarm support to it.

That's interesting, yet another one of my posts deleted ... oh well, it linked to a news video outlining Apple's current Federal Investigation to Anti-trust laws specifically around their software development policy.

See what happens when you get too close to the truth ... replies are deleted by Apple. Ironic, Apple used to be thought of as a "free thinkers" company, yet the censor more than any company I've ever known.

But it has no relevance to a technical support, user-to-user forum, as nobody here can solve this issue for you.

This is Apple's corporate user-to-user technical support site, not your local soap box. You agreed to the terms of use when you joined here.

There are many other sites you can go to and debate this.

deggie wrote:

Silverlight is not EOL because of Apple. It is EOL because it could not compete with Adobe Flash. Show me where MS made any effort to put Silverlight in any form on an iDevice or where MS has made any kind of complaint.

Silverlight is one of many technologies Microsoft has released with great fanfare and then when it didn't immediately succeed gave lukewarm support to it.

How could it succeed when it's blocked on all iOS devices? Silverlight 5 can do more than Flash, way MORE and that's exactly why Apple don't want to see it succeed. HTML5 (the new world order) is a joke, it's like going back in time ... it can't do what Silverlight 5 or Flash can do. Try to gain unrestricted access local resources with HTML5 even with a valid certificate and the user allowing it with a prompt ... just not gonna happen.

Microsoft tried very hard to demonstrate SL5 on iOS ... it was with limited success and pretty much feature dead (you could stream some video and that was about it). Just as with Flash, it was reduced to such a limited feature set in order to work that it was silly to want to even use it.

Software engineers are used as nothing more than pawns in the bid for XYZ companies market dominance in the "technology" of the day that helps XYZ company retain their leverage.

These threads show up in a google search, you know that right? It would be foolish to think this is the ONLY place that could "solve" this problem. I know if Apple could, they would try to block Google's search engines. So, this has a much bigger audience than:

PogoPossum wrote:

But it has no relevance to a technical support, user-to-user forum, as nobody here can solve this issue for you.

But whatever, go about your information suppression as ultimately that philosophy never works no matter what "terms of use" Apple try to hide behind.

Microsoft has also been pushing HTML5. Silverlight was not developed for tablet or touch interfaces, much like Flash. Don't believe me? I have an HP tx-1000 Tablet PC that I used to use for work. In tablet mode, Silverlight only worked so-so due to the rollover requirements some developers use. The problem is less Silverlight, and more the developers who use technologies not suited for today's mobile devices. Also, Apple pushes open technologies and is trying to kill any and all plugins. Check out the new Google Maps. It uses the newer Open GL frameworks. Similar functions to Flash, but faster and it doesn't require a plugin. The devs who still use Java, Flash, and Silverlight for web development (they definitely have place in software, especially Flash) need to move to more modern technologies. I refuse to hire web devs if they don't know HTML5/CSS3. I do not allow Flash, Java, or Silverlight to be on my company sites.

Tell me how you can get HTML5 full trust access to local resources? Without that, you've handicapped this "new technology". Microsoft are moving to HTML5 but again it's not because they want to ... they're simply covering all the bases.

Open GL is just a graphics UI, doesn't address sound, music, input devices, networking, or multimedia devices compared to DirectX. Open GL is slow too, much slower than DX11 ... updates are late and under delivered. The fundamental problem is that Open GL is yet more "open source" concepts where the sad reality is that graphics hardware is very specialized and not "generic" ... yes fixed-functions are specific, but they are fast and they deliver. I have nothing against "open source" but the reality is that "open anything" takes a LONG time to come out and often is feature reduced which puts it behind before it's really started.

Open GL drivers are rarely stable and often just aren't implemented correctly.

SL5 opens the door to DX11, HTML5 does not.

You wanna bet the bank on HTML5 then go for it, but I'd never place all my eggs in that basket.

Open GL is just one part of HTML5. There are ways to get HTML5 to full trust access to local resources. Check out Tether.com. They don't explain it as patent is pending, but they do it. Open GL is slow on very old devices. My company's devices (PCs and Macs) have no issues. I didn't install a driver. It is part of WebKit.

http://www.apple.com/html5/

^ I believe that provides solid evidence that Flash and Silverlight are no longer needed.

Also, you are arguing a mute point here. None of us work for Apple, we can't change things, and Apple has said they won't change things.

Federal Government will eventually make Apple change things, just like they made Microsoft change things ... they have to, it's part of US anti-trust laws.

But like I said, HTML5 is yet another technology fad repeating what can already be done with the many other existing technologies and missing out of some features other technologies can do ... all in the name market leverage.

The losers are the software developers, the companies that have to "re-tool" their software departments, and ultimately the end users. No winners here, not even those that are trying to leverage their tools and their platform.

Trust me when I say HTML5 is not the answer ... there may never be an "answer" (aka single uniformed standard that does it all) as large companies continue to manipulate what "can be done" vs. "what they want done" to leverage their specific platform.

RobA, celliott47 and deggie, thanks to your contributitons, this thread now has value, even for the support TOS ninnies. It is a correct assertion that I did, indeed, come upon this thread in a Google search as I was researching the best way to deliver enterprise content to Apple devices...a topic Apple should be very interested in given the growing acceptance of tablets for corporate use and fat corporate IT budgets out there waiting to be allocated as the economic recession eases. My company is a massive MS shop but very Apple friendly so we have an opportunity here and I appreciate the perspective of seasoned developers as the thread never came to what I would call a useful conclusion (the reason I stirred the puddin' a bit). I've been coding for Silverlight and web services for a while but I'm a part time developer, having other primary responsibilities, I'm not as current as I'd like to be and wasn't aware of the EOL rumors floating around! Sounds like I need to be investigaing HTML5 as an alternative (RobA, your well written dissention noted and generally agreed with).

Petoire,

Just be aware that HTML5 does NOT have an "Out-of-Browser" ability like Silverlight does. So if you have an end user base that does NOT want the current "browser of the day" experience and you want to avoid having to deal with all the options/settings that go along with "in browser" experience, then HTML5 will NOT be a solution for you.

Our approach (ok my approach since I'm in charge of software development) is using SL5 for the desktop/laptop users (about 95% of our user base). Later we'll develop HTML5 UI for that remaining 5% that use Mobile devices. Mobile device screen sizes are so small that it doesn't make sense to try to make a single UI for both desktop and mobile ... why handicap 95% of our user base just to satisfy 5% mobile user base. About the only thing we're missing is "tablets" but that will have to be HTML5 also, but our user base for tablets is <1% and there is no sign that's going to change now or within the near future (5 years out) -- yes even with the iPad3. Most of our user base view iPad's/Tablets are "may as well have a laptop" ... it's a curious device not small enough to take "everywhere" and big enough that one may as well have a laptop.

We're NOT going the way of Apple applications, I just can't see that as a viable future for us with the current Apple policy and what our user base needs.

Since none of these technologies support direct SQL server (database) access, the middle tier and backend will remain unchanged ... SL forced us to move to Web Services like it or not, so the UI is free to roam even if it's slower because of web services layer.

Rob