The folks over on HowardForums are reporting that AT&T will finally release the Windows Mobile 6 update for Samsung Blackjack users on September 17th.  I hope this is true...  While a beta was unofficially released on the web a few months ago, the lack of any Internet Connection Sharing was a big issue for me.

Michael Scherotter has a great how to on creating screencasts with Silverlight here.  He provides a workflow for Camtasia end to end which is pretty cool.  We should do all our product demos like this.

Beet.tv has a good interview here with the creators the Entertainment Tonight application powered by Silverlight.

This is great news - apparently MCE can support up to four HD cable (cablecard) tuners.  Engadget has the scoop.  Off to company meeting now.  More on my Media Center cablecard experiences later today.

Scott Hanselman says:

Wow, I didn't see this coming. (That's a lie, I totally saw it coming and have been saying it could, would and should happen for months) Silverlight 1.0 is officially released as of 9pm PST and surprise! It will formally support Linux (screenshots) as Moonlight via a partnership with Novell in the coming months.

Andy Plessner says:

Microsoft just released Silverlight 1.0, the cross-platform, cross-browser plug-in for streaming video, games and other multi-media content. The company has a number of content partners who will use Silverlight including Entertainment Tonight, HSN, World Wrestling Entertainment.

Entertainment Tonight launches today in Silverlight.  (As reported on Beet.TV Major League Baseball launched in an earlier version of Silverlight in late July.)

Like Flash, Silverlight is a thin plug-in download... Thanks to everyone at Microsoft for such warm hospitality for the purple channel.
(Of course Andy- our pleasure!)

Computerworld noted:

[Microsoft] said it will work with Novell Inc. on the Linux version of Silverlight, to be called Moonlight.

Microsoft will build the video codecs for the Moonlight project and supply Novell with software to test and ensure Silverlight runs well on 32-bit and 64-bit PCs running Suse Linux, Red Hat and Ubuntu.

Infoworld quoted the WWE's creative director as saying:

It's the advantages from a development side that Silverlight offers us," in terms of streaming video costs and displaying multiple video streams, he said.

"Flash certainly is a great tool, and we have some Flash product on our site, but I think overall as a company to partner with, Microsoft is going to be a great partner going forward," Angert said. WWE plans to use Silverlight for wrestling videos and broadband content. Current systems will be kept in place without much change, Angert said.

And the News.com NewsBlog noted:

Another key part of Microsoft's Silverlight strategy is to rely on its development tools. Its Visual Studio programming tools and Expression-branded designer products ease collaboration between developers and Web designers, Goldfarb said.

Version 1.1 of Silverlight, which Microsoft announced at its Mix 07 conference in May, will be available next year, probably in the summer, he said. That version will have support for the .Net programming model used in Microsoft's development languages, including scripting languages.

With the Silverlight 1.0 release, Microsoft also intends to release Expression Encoder, a tool meant to make it easy to encode video for display on the Web with Silverlight.

Not a bad start.

Chalk it up to global warming.  Earlier tonight, Microsoft and Novell announced plans to bring Silverlight to our shared customers on Linux. In a solution called, "Moonlight", Novell will be creating a Silverlight implementation as a part of the Mono project.

Why is this significant?  It's a continuation of our commitment to listen to customers and bring Silverlight to the platforms that matter to them.  Scrape away the veneer and it's simple- because they asked us to. Nicely.  A lot of credit goes to Miguel de Icaza whom I had the opportunity to meet at MIX.  From there, the teams held a series of conversations throughout the summer. 

Also in the news, Entertainment Tonight is doubling down with Silverlight, as are about 35 other partners announcing support. 

I'd also be remiss to not mention that tomorrow AM, we're launching Expression Encoder.  If you're looking for an easy tool to publish video and audio content or even live events with Silverlight, Expression Encoder is your tool.  In the coming weeks, we'll also release a plug-in for publishing directly to Silverlight Streaming and an API that makes it easy to publish via other services.

Too much for one blog post.  Net-net, at MIX we said we'd deliver Silverlight 1.0 this Summer* and we did. Silverlight 1.1 is in tandem development and significant resources are going to this effort.  It's time to Light up the Web.

Congratulations to the teams who made this possible.  Truly the most "can do" effort in my time at MSFT.

(Note: Many web properties will launch tomorrow AM Pacific by design)

This is to my recollection my first link to Fake Steve Jobs.  I enjoy him every once in a while, like a Far Side cartoon.  Tonight, I read his post, "A Boring Rant" about iTunes vs. NBC and he almost sounded lucid.  I think he's off the mark on Apple creating original video. They'll start where the risks are lower - music.

My prediction:  Apple will start a music label as the first step. They will have at least three major artists -

1. An established, older but wildly successful artist that's experienced a slight downturn, to focus on the aging adult contemporaries with the budget to buy Mac products
2. A hot country artist because we're reportedly a NASCAR nation*
3. One more youthful artist, probably focused on the urban demographic.

Or they may go all-in with a big defection en-masse.  Apple will make a statement to the industry by making these tracks available at a slightly cheaper price than other tracks on the site.  The might start by offering non-DRM'd tracks for $.99 vs. the requisite $1.29 found now.  They'll generate modest profits and promote like hell to get on the radio airwaves.  They'll use television ad time traditionally used to drum up iPod awareness (like we needed any) to promote the songs and the new iPods on their way.

Or perhaps I'm off the mark and the numbers don't add up.  Either way, ubiquitous broadband is the real disruptive force happening here, and on that we agree.

*My son is an addict and preschool slave at the altar of Pixar's Cars.  John Lasseter and the Pixar team are phenomenal in my book, but if I have to hear, "It's all gas and goes for McQueen today!" one more time...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/01/ap/strange/main3227143.shtml

Don't know who Akamai is?  You should.  According to some reports, a majority of internet downloads and audio/video streams run through their content delivery network (CDN).  GigaOm has a solid writeup on Akamai's new HD delivery network for the Web capable of delivering the highest level of commercialized HD - 1080p to the masses.  Realistically, I don't expect we'll see a lot of 1080p content floating around for a matter of years, but certainly within the next five it will become commonplace for commercial  content. 720p will work for a lot of short-form content, with many movie trailers already being offered up in HD on sites including the new Halo 3 HD Mini Movie done with Weta digital (Peter Jackson's outfit).

Ever wonder what a warthog or brute would look like in real life?  Neill Blomkamp's new gritty, live action short film based on the Halo franchise can be found here on MSN, powered by Silverlight.  Standard Def version here.

Now if only there was a feature-length movie to accompany...

NYTimes writer Eric Pfanner notes the increasing number of airlines advertising to their captive audiences.  I get offended by Alaska Airlines flight attendants giving me a minute-long spiel on their credit card.  Where does it end?  There are all sorts of opportunities.  Want to target the mommy and new parent crowd?  Perhaps I should start selling ad space on my newborn son's onesies:

Hey, it worked for Chris Pirillo :)  How about, "Powered by Pampers" or "Spit up provided by Gerber"?  Then we could branch out and put advertisements on the dark UV blocking film you put on the kids car window so they don't burn and look like George Hamilton.

Oh and comments should be back on if anyone dares.  Any other slogans. :)

Time magazine has an interesting article on why Facebook is the future of the Web.  I wonder if Lev Grossman was reading about how Scoble is completely off his rocker (again)?  Scoble has such affable charm though.  As Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb would say, "I like his energy". Scoble isn't afraid to be wrong in a very public venue (especially if it brings him more traffic).  Shrug.  But back to the Time article.  Facebook's ignition hinges on the simple "sociomathematics" dating back to the BBS era, updated for the Web:

                             Bozo + Bandwidth = Troll

It all reminds me of the movie "Gremlins".  If memory serves, there are two things you never do to a cuddly Mogwai (sp?).  1)Don't feed them after midnight and 2) Don't ever get them wet.  Facebook operates on the same principles - People are congenial and know the rules - feed your community with positive contributions and don't be a wet blanket.  The repercussions can be swift.  As Time notes:

Unlike the Internet, Facebook is structured around an opt-in philosophy; people have to consent to have contact with or even see others on the network. If you're annoying folks, you'll essentially cease to exist, as those you annoy drop you off the grid.

The quality of the connections is what matters. Even the features focus on positive aspects of relationship building - sharing TV and movie tastes, music, and more.  Want to know what people really think of you?  Try "applications" such as the Honesty Box.  Or if you're a real fan of the office, trade Schrute Bucks.  I love the Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey app. There's even a site for rating these fun little apps called AppRate.  These are all basically Widgets or Gadgets realized in a useful way.

The question is whether they can continue their phenomenal growth without succumbing to the fickle interests of a bite-sized society. Already some complain about the thirty-something's and beyond that are descending on Facebook.   Time makes a point that communities will self-select, regardless of age.  It will be interesting to see how Facebook evolves over the next year.

I've discovered certain new games for Xbox 360 require that you do NOT have a "strict" or "moderate" setting in order to player match games.  Overall, you may see a performance increase in online network play if you follow the instructions found here.  They helped my situation quite a bit with a new Wireless Router.

I just caught wind that the MSN Election Guide, powered by Microsoft Silverlight is now live.  You can browse through the latest news, up to date positions on the issues and even video clips with results powered by Windows Live Search.  My favorite feature is the ability to compare candidates positions interactively.  This is a tool I will definitely be using.  My only wish is for an RSS feed for each of the issues. 

Hot on the heels of Tafiti powered by Silverlight earlier this week, there are some very interesting things happening.   Congrats to the MSN and Windows Live teams!

My wife just sent a link to the funniest entry I've ever seen on Ebay.  A mom with six kids recounts her story of going to the grocery store only to have the kids sneak Pokemon into the basket.  A sampling:

Shipping is FREE on this item.  Insurance is optional, but once I drop the package at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility.  For example, if my son decides to pour a bottle of glue into the envelope, or my daughter spills a glass of juice on the package, that's my responsibility and I will fully refund your money.  If, however, I take the envelope to the post office and a disgruntled mail carrier sets fire to it, a pack of wild dogs rip into it, or a mail sorting machine shreds it, it's out of my hands, so you may want to add insurance. 

If you're a parent, you'll understand.

For fellow road warriors, I came across SeatGuru.com for finding the best seats on airplanes for comfort.  There's even a mobile version.  Bookmarked!

Some of you have noticed my summer hiatus.  I was going to lose some vacation at the end of the year and negotiated an extended leave of seven weeks (5 down, two to go).   We're off learning to live as a new, nuclear family with our newborn son, and just finished a marathon four weeks of family visiting.  I have tons of pictures to upload to Flickr and have also spent some time with Expression Web and Photoshop helping some fellow BBQ'ers create the Pacific Northwest Eggfest site.  Home improvement projects a plenty, and we just did our first major (10 hour) road trip with geek toys which I'll blog about later.

Thanks to all for your inquiry emails- I'll be posting a lot more often here once I've finished recharging!