Recently I was asked to be a part of the Silverlight TAP program with Microsoft. I’ve always enjoyed working with new technologies, especially those that help visualize data and improve the development process for the User Interface layer, and so I signed up.
So what is Silverlight? And what is TAP? And what use does it have to our customers?
Silverlight is a relatively new technology released by Microsoft that brings the power of their new Presentation Foundation to the browser user. Some people refer to it as being akin to “Flash”, and I would agree that this is a good basis to begin a discussion about the technology. Like Flash, Silverlight exists in the browser as a plug-in, and downloads application bits to begin execution. However, my experience with the technology shows that it has gone a long way beyond this by providing a set of tools and structured programming languages (C# and Visual Basic.NET) that allow you to create manageable applications using tried and true programming techniques and patterns.
The Microsoft TAP (Technology Adoption Program) for Silverlight was Quixtar’s opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the next version of Silverlight, and have a say on what features we feel are important. This directly influences how Microsoft proceeds with the technology, and is a great way to leverage our experiences and feed them back into their development pipeline.
What does it mean to you as a Quixtar Customer or IBO? I believe this is where Silverlight can bring great new interactive applications to the user, through the browser. Today, most everything we do centers around traditional web based applications based on HTML, ASPX, and Javascript. These are powerful mechanisms to bring disconnected applications and functionality to you. Silverlight, however, lets us take this a lot farther, and bring the power of rich desktop applications to you, still through your browser (be it Safari, FireFox, Internet Explorer, and others). It does so in a standardized way, so it is not just a “Flash” animation, but truly a standardized rich application experience that is intuitive and easy to navigate. We foresee bringing faster and better visualizations of the LOS Tree, Product Browsers, and other business tools that are difficult to represent with HTML alone.
If you’re a developer, I’d suggest you take a look at the latest release of the Expression Studio tools, particularly “Blend” and start learning what you can about XAML (pronounced ZAML). XAML makes great strides in making the formatting of the Presentation Layer for desktop apps and rich client apps a declarative exercise rather than a programming one. Data bindings, animations, control placement, and custom paths may all be built out using this technology. Additionally, Silverlight is supported by a structured, well defined, high level programming language: C# (or Visual Basic.NET). Event Handlers, UI Threading, Data Binding Processes, Click Handlers, Delegates, and all the new goodies like Lambda Expressions, LINQ, and protocol bindings are all available to you in Silverlight.
In the future, you’ll be seeing a lot more Silverlight mixed into the Amway experience, and that is going to make a better experience for our users. Better ways of navigating content, placing orders, and reviewing LOS trees will all be greatly improved by the new Silverlight Experience.
Want to learn more? Start Here: http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/overview/default.aspx
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About Thad Senti
My primary focus is on the overall user experience architecture, including user interaction design, concepting and development. I've been tinkering away "professionally" (meaning, getting paid to) on computers and software since the Borland C++/OWL Windows 3.0 days, with technology experience and expertise in many Business and Presentation Layer technologies. Prior to joining Quixtar, I was the Lead Software Architect for the Broadband Division at Harris Corporation. My past experience also includes various development and technology leadership roles within industries such as media broadcasting, education, on-line advertising, and natural resource management.