Silverlight 2 FAQ

Some answers from the Silverlight 2 FAQ that I found insightful -

What is in Silverlight 1 that is not in Silverlight 2?
Nothing. Silverlight 2 is a full superset of Silverlight 1.0. It is 100% compatible with Silverlight 1.0 applications and provides more powerful features and functionality. Silverlight 1.0 applications even benefit from improvements in media playback and performance characteristics of Silverlight 2 without any additional changes needed.

When would a customer use Silverlight instead of ASP.NET AJAX?
ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight are designed to be complementary technologies. Because Silverlight can talk to any AJAX application, both client-side and server-side, customers can enhance existing ASP.NET or ASP.NET AJAX applications by integrating Silverlight media experiences and RIAs into their Web applications. Conversely, ASP.NET AJAX can additionally be used to control Silverlight-based visualization of data or the delivery of rich experiences.

When would a customer use Silverlight versus Windows Presentation
Foundation (WPF)?Microsoft recommends targeting the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) when building rich, immersive applications and experiences that can take full advantage of the Windows platform, including hardware acceleration, peripheral access, etc. Silverlight is meant be used for broad reach, interactive media content and browser-based rich interactive and high-performance applications and experiences.

Will Silverlight support HD quality?
Yes, Silverlight supports 720p HD quality today. However, performance varies depending on the capabilities of the individual PC.

Which platforms and browsers will Silverlight 2 support?
Silverlight will support all major browsers on both Mac OS X, Linux and on Windows. Particular care is being taken to account for differences in platform and browser capabilities to ensure a consistent experience including experiences on Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer.