Paul Krill reports that Microsoft showed off a beta of its Popify Web mash-up software at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. Popify runs on Microsoft's Silverlight, a would-be contender for the minds and money currently invested in Adobe Flash (and progeny) for leadership in rich Web apps. Microsoft's smart to roll out purpose-specific Web 2.0 apps built on Silverlight rather than just hyping the platform Paul Krill reports that Microsoft showed off a beta of its Popify Web mash-up software at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. Popify runs on Microsoft’s Silverlight, a would-be contender for the minds and money currently invested in Adobe Flash (and progeny) for leadership in rich Web apps. Microsoft’s smart to roll out purpose-specific Web 2.0 apps built on Silverlight rather than just hyping the platform by itself. Silverlight has more to overcome than Adobe. Six states, plus the District of Columbia, have filed for a five-year extension to Microsoft’s anti-trust judgment. The states are worried that Silverlight could be Internet Explorer all over again, made a de facto standard by virtue of being shipped with practically every PC sold worldwide. Maybe they’ve got a point. Adobe will never have a distribution channel with that kind of penetration. But who cares what Microsoft is doing given that Apple’s OS X Leopard is almost here? Here’s an OS that’s not just anticipated because it isn’t Vista, but because it’s the first certified UNIX that’s fast, looks great and is productive and fun right out of the box. And when it’s time to indulge one’s untamed self, pop up a Terminal window and find out what all 1,462 commands do. Don’t let the looks fool you: Leopard’s real UNIX. Technology Industry