Microsoft has opened up itsAzurecloud computing platform to enable web-based applications
to run in the cloud without modification.
Mark Quirk, head developer at Microsoft UK, said, "We are now
effectively allowing developers to access the full Windows
application programming interface using Azure in the cloud."
He said programmers will be able to use programming PHP and Ruby
programming tools in the applications they create that run on
Azure.
Microsoft has also unveiled
Silverlight 3 Beta, the
company's rival to Adobe Flash player, for building rich internet
applications. Microsoft said Silverlight 3 supports high-quality
and high-definition video playback.
In his In the MIX09 keynote address, Scott Guthrie, corporate
vice-president for the .net developer platform at Microsoft, said,
"We are working closely with the community to deliver software that
helps businesses provide customer experiences on the web that go
beyond 'good enough' and drive real business results."
