I have just read that Microsoft is again pushing some online video streaming site to use Silverlight to cover major sporting events.My problem with Silverlight is that it is not available on enough platforms, and that the version level varies depending said platform.
On windows and intel Macs it's on version 2, on Linux it's on version 1 and it is not available on non-intel mac and on the Wii. It is also available only for some browsers: Firefox, IE and maybe the Mac's native browser (I don't have a mac, so I can't confirm this). There is no support yet for Opera or Chrome.
Microsoft should first ensure that the Silverlight plugin is available on more platforms at a consistent level before pushing the technology in the mainstream, or it will antagonize the user and give the technology an image of "do not work" with the public.
The Olympics video coverage was a big debacle for Microsoft because it happened at the time when the Linux Netbooks were starting to be very popular as devices to watch online video and the Linux plugin was not yet ready, so the Olympics videos didn't play on these gadgets. This resulted in a black eye for NBC and a lot of people going to torrent sites and video sharing sites like youtube instead of NBC.
Recently I went to a site with my Linux Netbook and the site asked me to install the latest plugin, and redirected me to Moonlight (the Linux version of Silverlight), only after I had installed the plugin it still told me I was missing the plugin because it expected Silverlight 2, which is not yet available on Linux. The result: SILVERLIGHT DOESN'T WORK!
Flash on the other hand works on Linux and the Wii, meaning that Silverlight suffers badly in the comparison. This is one of the reasons I prefer Miro over iTunes: Miro also works on Linux.
If you use Silverlight to distribute your video online you will frustrate part of your potential audience, and that is not something you want to do (unless of course Microsoft is paying you good money to do it).
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