January 28th, 2008
Silverlight on the Library of Congress site
With DEMO today there’s going to be a ton of RIA news but this one isn’t DEMO-related. Microsoft is going to be working with the Library of Congress (one of my favorite buildings in DC) on an enhanced version of their website. The plan seems to be part of an overall Microsoft-centric push into the Library of Congress as in addition to the website there will be a number of Vista-powered kiosks inside the library. The new site seems like it will have some quality content:
The technology debuted with the “Exploring the Early Americas” exhibition Dec. 13. The library plans to make new holdings interactive with the new program, including the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible, the 1507 Waldseem ller World Map that first used the word “America” and original volumes from Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, said library spokesman Matt Raymond.
Microsoft continues to show that they’re serious about getting Silverlight adoption. For this particular initiative they provided an initial grant of $3 million to “enhance the online accessibility and interactivity of about 800 of the Library of Congress’ prominent holdings.” A significant chunk of change but an interesting project.
Update: Just dug around the site a bit after getting an email about accessibility. Silverlight 1.0 isn’t 508 compliant and the “HTML” version goes to sites that have embedded Flash video and audio which can be used with JAWS. I think accessibility is going to be in Silverlight 2.0 so this may be a temporary thing.
Ryan Stewart, a Rich Internet Application developer and industry analyst, recently joined Adobe's Platform Team as a Rich Internet Application Evangelist. full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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