![]() ![]() Even though, most trial software products are only time-limited some also have feature limitations. After that trial period (usually 15 to 90 days) the user can decide whether to buy the software or not. Trial software allows the user to evaluate the software for a limited amount of time. ![]() Demos are usually not time-limited (like Trial software) but the functionality is limited. In some cases, all the functionality is disabled until the license is purchased. ![]() Demoĭemo programs have a limited functionality for free, but charge for an advanced set of features or for the removal of advertisements from the program's interfaces. In some cases, ads may be show to the users. Basically, a product is offered Free to Play (Freemium) and the user can decide if he wants to pay the money (Premium) for additional features, services, virtual or physical goods that expand the functionality of the game. This license is commonly used for video games and it allows users to download and play the game for free. There are many different open source licenses but they all must comply with the Open Source Definition - in brief: the software can be freely used, modified and shared. Programs released under this license can be used at no cost for both personal and commercial purposes. Open Source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify or enhance. Freeware products can be used free of charge for both personal and professional (commercial use). And if you are currently using Silverlight, check out Arthur Casals’ article on OpenSilver, a WebAssembly-based runtime for Silverlight applications.Freeware programs can be downloaded used free of charge and without any time limitations. So there is high probability that the software from a decade ago will need to be kept running for another decade or longer.įor information on when support ends on other Microsoft products, see the Search product lifecycle page. And since the software is often tied to specific machines, the cost can’t be spread around like it would be for consumer software. While modern browser technology removes the need for new software of this kind to be written in Silverlight, rewriting the existing software would take years and would be very expensive. For example, Silverlight’s Deep Zoom technology was incorporated into the processing software for high-end microscopes to do cancer research. NET Core, it does have the promise of a long lifespan.Īnother area where Silverlight was used is in industrial and medical equipment. While these companies do have the prospect of an expensive rewrite, porting to WPF or UWP wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. Such applications would normally be written in WinForms or WPF, but Silverlight made deployment and updating easier. For many companies this was seen as a way of quickly building line-of-business applications with better features and performance than HTML/JavaScript applications of the time. While Silverlight is essentially gone from the public web, where it did get some popularity was internal applications. “There is no longer support for Chrome, Firefox, or any browser using the Mac operating system.” This essentially killed the consumer market for Silverlight, though it did live on for a while thanks to streaming services such as Netflix.Ĭurrently, the only browsers that continue to run Silverlight are Internet Explorer 10 and 11. Silverlight was first released in 2007, the very same year that Apple announced that it wouldn’t support browser plugins such as Adobe Flash for iPhone. And in a way, it was doomed from the start. This situation came about because Silverlight is not a stand-alone platform it requires a browser to host it. ![]() The installer will no longer be available after next year. But what you won’t find on this list is Silverlight. For a rather extreme example, those with a MSDN Subscription can download software from 1992 such as Visual Basic 2.0 and Windows 3.1. Microsoft describes this “last resort option for customers who need to run certain legacy Microsoft products”.īut even after this point, you can usually get legacy software that you need. The next phase is known as “beyond end of support”, where even security updates are only available via the Extended Security Update Program. After this point, products enter into what’s known as “extended support”, where security patches are still widely available but any non-security updates usually require some sort of contract with Microsoft Unified Support. Most Microsoft products go through a series of phases starting with the end of “mainstream support”. This won’t be the case for Silverlight, which will no longer be downloadable after October 12, 2021. Normally when Microsoft decides an end-of-life date for a product, they really just mean “you shouldn’t be using this anymore, but we understand if you do”. ![]()
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