Microsoft Sets Silverlight 3, Expression 3 Launch Event for July 10

Microsoft has set July 10 as the date for a launch event for Version 3 of its Silverlight Rich Internet application (RIA) technology and Version 3 of the company's Expression design tools.

In a "Save the Date" invitation, Microsoft announced the July 10 date as a launch event for Silverlight 3 and Expression 3, calling on prospective attendees to come and "see for yourself how Microsoft is helping teams light up Web experiences." Although the Microsoft invite said the launch event will be held "in the Bay Area," at 10 a.m. on July 10, it also said that further details would follow.

Microsoft's Silverlight 3, which the company announced in March at its MIX09 event, is currently in beta. Silverlight 3 brings more than 50 new features over the prior version, including support for running Silverlight applications out of the browser, enhanced video performance and improved quality, and features that improve developer productivity. Silverlight 3 also features Visual Studio and Expression Blend support.

Meanwhile, Expression Blend 3, also available as a preview, includes SketchFlow, a rapid prototyping capability that makes it easy to communicate design intent to stakeholders; design time sample data that enables the design and testing of applications without access to live data; direct import of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files; behaviors, extensible and reusable components that add interactivity to applications without writing code; a full code editor supporting C#, VB and XAML.