Get a running start with Silverlight 3—the cross-platform, cross-browser plug-in for rich interactive applications and cutting-edge media experiences. Featuring advance insights from inside the Microsoft Silverlight team—this book provides practical, grounded advice, rich examples, and ready code to help inspire your next solutions. Discover how to: Create your first simple sites Build applications that run out of the browser Use XAML to render, scale, and animate graphics on-screen Work with Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio Explore core and advanced controls—and build your own Exploit new graphics support—3-D effects, H.264 video, GPU acceleration Experiment with media, ink, DeepZoom, and Photosynth * Access data services to build connected applications Dynamically add content using Ruby and Python Manage Silverlight applications from ASP.NET-based servers Learn how to deliver DRM-protected video content