The Empire Strikes Back: How Silverlight 2 Got Installed On My Macbook Pro

One thing you have to give credit to Microsoft for is they know how to get boots on the ground and press flesh. At SXSW, Josh Holmes managed to get Silverlight 2 installed on my otherwise pristine Macbook Pro by proffering that age old question, “have you ever seen Silverlight’s ‘Deep Zoom‘ feature?” Naive, thirty-something man that I am I replied, “no,” as I simultaneously realized that I had just opened Pandora’s box. I’m not sure how effective this adoption mechanism is, but so far its proven superior to their killer app theory.

I saw Josh about a month ago at TechSmith’s HQ, but managed to remain Silverlight free due in large part to the Flex chest protector Adobe provided at their last UG. Betsy suggests I look like a Ninja Turtle in this picture, to which I’d reply, in the words of Carl Spackler, “Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort.”

Ultimately, I was non-plussed by the ‘Deep Zoom’ given, as Lee points out, the capability has existed in Flash for a long time. However, I give Josh high marks for not only getting Silverlight installed, but then coming over to the TechSmith booth and doing a demo on my Mac for another person he met at the show. Mark one battle won by the emperor’s troops.