Microsoft has released Silverlight 3 Beta, Expression Blend 3 Preview, and updates to the Azure Services Platform.
According to the company, Silverlight 3 allows web developers and designers to build better experiences for their customers through the creation of better web applications. Silverlight 3 helps rich internet application developers work faster with new graphics, animation and 3-D features, and more than 60 controls. Silverlight 3 also ushers in a new generation of high-definition video experiences with high-definition video in full-screen mode, with stutter-free live and on-demand video, the company added.
Microsoft said that Expression Blend 3 Preview has been designed to improve designer and developer workflow and productivity. It is reported that Expression Blend directly supports the import of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files (including layers and paths), integration of live preview sample data, and a comprehensive set of rich behaviors.
Microsoft announced new capabilities in Windows Azure including support for full trust to increase the level of flexibility for developers through support of native code, non-.NET language support via FastCGI, and geolocation to provide developers with the capability to host data and code across two US-based datacenters; this enables customers to store data in multiple locations while helping ensure business continuity, and delivers enhanced performance benefits through reduced network latency.
Microsoft also released several components of the Microsoft Web Platform, an integrated set of tools, servers and frameworks that work together and interoperate with open source applications and products. Microsoft also announced the availability of Microsoft Commerce Server 2009, which reportedly allows businesses to create improved user experiences across e-commerce channels.
