Right on schedule, Microsoft delivered its Silverlight 1.0 platform yesterday. Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering richer user experiences on the Web, and has been the subject of a lot of talk in the rich content delivery field in the past months. Basically, Silverlight is a development platform that makes it easy to develop rich media content delivery using Microsoft’s Windows Media Technologies.

Our expectations for compelling, immersive experiences on the Web are increasing daily… With today’s release of Silverlight 1.0, we’re making it possible for developers and designers to deliver to individuals the kind of high-def experiences they crave by integrating data and services in rich and unique ways. Silverlight will further accelerate the growth in rich interactive applications by giving developers and designers new options for delivering great experiences that span the Web, PC, phone and other devices.

Apart from Silverlight, Microsoft is working with Novell on developing the Linux counterpart for Silverlight, called Moonlight, which is a direct response on feedback received from the development community. This has been based on a previous project on mono-project.com . With the recent shifts in Microsoft’s strategy (turning towards online applications which are platform independent), it makes a lot of sense that Microsoft is engaging more and more with the Linux audience. Why different names for two things that are virtually the same (just working on a different OS) is beyond me, but Silverlight and Moonlight kind of sound like reflections of each other in the mirror.

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Ok, so I am actually watching videos on MyStrands.tv and writing this. Interesting idea - find music videos, make your own favorite list and see people (members) who also like similar music. The core of the whole thing is that the site actually shows music videos that are available on YouTube. There are recommendations for similar artists and genres, and also avatars of members of the MyStrands community who also listen to a particular artist being viewed. You can rate each video in five different ways - favorite, like it, indifferent, sucks, and don’t show this crap to me again :), but you have to be registered in order to access this feature. I was wondering about the income stream for the site, when I noticed they show Amazon links towards albums for a particular artist matching genre of the video(s) you are watching at that moment, so this is a great example of a simple, but clever implementation of the free APIs abundant on the internet nowadays.

MyStrands just raised $25 million in Series B funding by Antonio Asensio, a 25 year old Spanish media mogul and CEO of Grupo Zeta, third largest media group in Spain. Existing investors Debaeque and Sequel backed this investment which brings total amount to $31 million.

In a world of content overload, aggregating and understanding people’s preferences is going to be key to personalizing the way people access and enjoy digital content… The new funds will allow us to remain independent and continue investing in developing technologies and new services to help people organize and explore digital media.

Recommendation technologies will allow media companies to deliver personalized content and targeted advertising to consumers… MyStrands technologies could become the standard for content personalization on the Internet.

MyStrands is a company that develops social recommendation technologies that help people organize and discover digital media, products and services they like. Technologies employed by MyStrands work on various devices like desktops, mobile devices, and other internet capable devices.

So, go and share your taste in music with others on MyStrands.tv

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Pownce, the fairly recently launched social network site, has added some new features. There are four new features to be exact:

• Upcoming Event Notifications
• Inline Video Playback & Inline Image Previews
• Display Your Social Networks & Links
• New Preferences Settings

Apart from some behind the scene changes to make things run faster and smoother, these four are the changes visible to users. Read more on the Pownce Blog.

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Microsoft is planning to make available software that connects the Windows OS to services delivered over the Internet this week. This concept, often referred to as cloud computing, is part of Microsoft’s initiative that will connect the OS with online services. There was talk about cloud computing as something that may be the founding block of the new web (Web 3.0?), as Eric Schmidt said here. This move on Microsoft’s part may in fact put Microsoft back in the game. Microsoft cannot compete directly with its search engine, but with service and OS integration they will be able to keep their hundreds of millions of customers close and away from competitors such as Google or SalesForce.com, both of which offer plenty of software solutions online otherwise offered on desktop computers by Microsoft.

Microsoft’s desktop monopoly has been threatened for a long time by hundreds of companies who offer online services that require nothing more than Internet access and web browsers, while all data is stored on servers. As the industry is moving more towards the “on-demand model”, Microsoft is just in time with this change. Look forward to seeing Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger 8.5 and Windows Live OneCare Family Safety, as well as Windows Live Writer for blogging, with SkyDrive and FolderShare to join the list very soon as additional services for data storage. As Bill Gates put it “When you think storage, think Windows Live”. Microsoft aims to separate user data and applications from devices on which they are used. Windows Live Service will be available at Live.com soon, so stay tuned!

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I must admit I’m running a bit late with catching this one - Scrybe.com, a project by Scrybe Corporation founded by Faizan Buzdar (31), based in Islamabad, Pakistan. He and his three friends developed, under “improvised” working conditions I might add, a personal information manager called Scrybe that just might change the way we look at organizers. I won’t go into too much detail about Scrybe Corporation and authors (you can see more here), except to say they received an undisclosed amount of funding from Adobe Systems and LMKR. What I want you to do is take a couple of minutes and watch their demo video below, or on their site if you prefer.

I am truly amazed by what I saw on the demo. What do you think? Is Scrybe something you’ll definitely try. Although Beta testing is in progress, they are not taking any more sign-ups (like I said, I’m running late with this), but new users can still get in if they receive invitations from existing users.

So, dearest existing Scrybe user, please send me an invitation

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The World’s Greates MP3 Search Site, is what they say about themselves. Over the years there had been many such search engines specialized in music search, but this one let’s you get to the music actually. All results are links towards MP3 files from around the Internet, which means you can download them through your web browser. The site explicitly states on its copyright page that it doesn’t vouch for sites where these MP3’s can be found as copyright is concerned, nor does it host any of these files on its own servers. If you choose to download an MP3 you take all responsibility. Not worried about this? Visit SkreemR and knock yourself out. I am not sure how long this will last without legal hassles, so don’t take your time, go now.

Oh, almost forgot, SkreemR has a Facebook app, so you can enjoy almost the same deal from your Facebook profile. You can’t download songs, but you can make your own play lists, share choices with friends, customize the music seen in your profile, find tracks by browsing other people’s profiles and scoop tons of great songs. Finally, you can see who are the Tastemakers, who set trends with digging out the most stuff and best music. I would like to have seen an option to export/send search results or track lists to an email address so you can then use that list to go and get the music from the SkreemR site. The search results in the app will only give you the web site where the song can be found. It’s understandable for this application not to allow direct download, but it’s pretty much the user’s choice, is it not? Anyway, with a little more effort, you can eventually get to the song.

Here’s a screenshot of the SkreemR Facebook application:

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Trend Hunter (trendhunter.com), the popular magazine that follows latest trends in business, lifestyle and technology, has introduced its own Facebook app. It’s really a reduced extension of the site, and allows you to choose between several categories to show the latest trends from - My Trend Hunter Portfolio (trends you authored on the site as a registered member), Technology, Style & Fashion, Business & Marketing, Art & Design and Environment. Trends can be shown in any of the three view modes (gallery, title and description, and titles only) with 3,6,9 or 12 items in the view. Ok, so that’s what’s offered.

Here is what I would have liked to see:

• option to view content within the app, or at least a summary of the content; right now all links simply take you away from Facebook to TrendHunter.com
• option to author an article from within Facebook; this shouldn’t be too hard to implement - sometimes it’s the moment that counts, so being able to jot something down immediately without logging out and in and switching sites would be useful
• although there is the TH group on Facebook, I would like to be able to make my own Top Trends list and be able to share with others through my profile page on Facebook

Here’s a screeshot of the Trend Hunter app:

Trend Hunter seems to be taking Facebook presence seriously, which is commendable. I’m sure they’ll improve the application over time and add plenty more functionality for hungry trend hunters.

About Trend Hunter (from their site):
TrendHunter.com is an explosion of cool fueled by a community of 15455 Trend Hunters. Innovation and strategic advantage hinge on the ability to anticipate trends and identify the next big thing. By tracking the evolution of cool, Trend Hunters generate ideas, stimulate creativity, and ultimately shape our social context. TREND HUNTER Magazine is a multi channel explosion of cool that caters to social leaders, industry professionals, and relentlessly creative individuals. We live for trend spotting, cool hunting and innovation.

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