In September 2006, Microsoft launched MSN Soapbox, the company's answer to YouTube. The user-generated video site went public in February 2007, only to be semi-closed down for two months soon after in order to add content filtering. The service has been updated and tweaked many times over, but eventually it was merged into the larger MSN Video site. While this was happening, many who were following Silverlight's progress were wondering why Microsoft was still using Flash on its video sites, especially considering that it had offered Silverlight on some of its other pages, including the Microsoft.com homepage, The Podium ’08, MSN Extra, and the Microsoft Download Center.

Silverlight-powered videos were bound to happen and now, as announced at MIX08, Microsoft is readying a new video site. "You will be able to scan our Quick Picks for the latest videos, enter a search, or choose a category from our Video Guide," said the company. "Then tell us what you think by rating what you've watched. If you like what you see, you can share it with a friend or colleague, or link to it in your blog using one of our community features." Microsoft Videos will launch in beta sometime in April with United States content at first. Of course, April could mean April Fools or it could mean April 30, but either way we'll keep you posted.

Continue At Source

Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live Favorites