Silverlight, Flex, Web Applications :)

I'm glad to see that Adobe will be getting a legitimate competitor in the area of Rich Internet Application platforms. (Those small companies with custom plugins don't count. Neither do Applets.) Microsoft just announced Silverlight. (Don Dodge's write up. Microsoft's Silverlight homepage.)

Adobe needs this threat to their Flash platform. Nothing breeds better products than competition.

I really don't know much about Silverlight (just what I read in that press release). The obvious problem is, how much will developers, who aren't already drinking the MS Kool-aid, trust a "cross-platform" plugin from Microsoft? Not to mention, what about the tools to build the content? If the tools only run on Windows, you can forget about the people at the cutting edge.