In another “not quite Windows Live but still cool” post, Moonlight, an open source implementation of Microsoft Silverlight for Unix systems, is now available in both Silverlight v1.o and 2.0 builds. Silverlight, while it still has a long way to go to become as widely adapted as Adobe’s Flash, is leading the charge for Microsoft to become a more open eco-system for development. Moonlight is not a Microsoft project, but Microsoft has been working together with Mono, an open source project sponsored by Novell, to develop and run .Net client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix, to make a Linux version of Silverlight happen.
While many pundits seem to be stuck in a “Microsoft isn’t open” mode, many indications are that the company has turned a corner, and with Silverlight, and Live Mesh, and the Windows Live platform, seems to be moving toward, if not actually embracing, a more open attitude. Recent announcements by Google, Yahoo, MySpace, and Facebook also indicate a general trend toward opening up the software world.
(via Rohan Thomas)