Microsoft pulled off a coup for Silverlight when it arranged for the American Presidential Inaugural Committee to use the technology for live streaming and on-demand video of Barack Obama's oath-taking ceremony this coming Tuesday. Prior to the actual swearing-in event, Obama and vice-president-elect Joe Biden will be making a Whistle Stop Tour from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. Video of their stop in Baltimore will also be available via the special website.
This site to visit for the day's happenings? https://www.pic2009.org.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, said, "Microsoft is proud to be a part of this event by helping to bring the inauguration activities online." For those who cannot use Silverlight, the inauguration will be streamed by many other news sources in Flash, including the BBC.
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was also broadcast using Silverlight, although it too was available from other sources in Flash.
The Obama interest in transparency in goverment is behind such deals, and the US Congress has likewise moved to form ties with Google-owned YouTube, as reported here earlier. Critics, however, have been quick to ask whether such government ties to companies--and their proprietary technologies--are in the best interests of citizens. Privacy issues have also been raised, given that visitors to such sites have been and will be leaving behind digital footprints and it is unclear what will become of the data gathered.
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