At the recent Mix 10 conference, Microsoft promoted the Windows Phone 7 operating system’s entertainment capabilities, and it highlighted the Silverlight rich Internet application platform’s ability to stream video from the Olympics and a Victoria’s Secret fashion show. But some analysts say that all the focus on the fun and games is obscuring the fact that Microsoft has created an infrastructure for more serious business software development.
“For me as a business developer, you’re always in a situation where you’re trying to figure out what’s the quickest way I can get this application out to my users, how can I make it easy to use,” says developer Ethan Nagel. “I just think Silverlight is a way that you can develop these applications much more quickly and easily.”