Microsoft announces Flash competitor, Silverlight

In the wake of Adobe's Flash CS3 release, Microsoft announces its next-generation, cross-platform, cross-browser web client runtime called Silverlight.

This runtime will allow the playback of files using various forms of interactivity on both PC and Mac platforms. Silverlight will essentially deliver rich interactive applications for the web that incorporate video, animation, and interactivity. It also has the ability to run in fullscreen HD video mode while supporting 720p video, and through mobile devices.

I don't think that this is a Flash-killer by any means, if anything it will be more fuel for Adobe to try and keep the Flash platform as top dog of web interactivity.

There are more details as to Silverlight's capabilities in this MSDN blog post.