With the Olympics in full swing many fans are visiting www.nbcolympics.com for updates and stories regarding the 2008 Olympics. In the tech blog world there have been many posts regarding this sites extensive use of Microsofts Silverlight product, in regards to the streaming video of events . Some blogs have gone as far as stating that this is the coming out party for Silverlight in the RIA war. I am not quite sure about the validity of those statements.
If you visit the site you are not prompted for downloading or installing Silverlight until you request a video. But the moment you visit the site you begin to see elements that are very familiar. Those elements are Flash and Ajax. The site does not stick to one technology over another, but rather utilizes the best technology for the situation. The right tool for the right job. Sometimes the best technology is not used inleu of corporate partnership agreements. More than likely the Silverlight usage is prompted by the fact that Microsoft is a large sponsor of the Olympic Games and has a strong relationship with NBC.
It is no secret that I am a big proponent of Adobe technologies such as Flash, Flex , and Air. That does not mean that these are the only technologies to use. I applaud the nbcolympics.com development team for utilizing all of the technologies available to them, and yes I am smiling a little bit more now that I see Flash on their sites home page.
As for me, I will choose Flash/Flex over Silverlight, but that is just my choice of technologies.
