Microsoft Office 2010 Home And Student Final Silve

Microsoft is nearing the end line with all the 2.0 releases of each the Windows and Mac OS X variations of its Silverlight competitor to Adobe Flash.
Late final week,Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010, Microsoft released the very first public Release Candidate (RC) test builds of Silverlight two.0 for Windows and Mac OS X. The new RC 0 build isn't created for end end users; it is aimed particularly at developers. As explained on the official Silverlight web page:
“Silverlight two Release Candidate 0 (Silverlight two RC0) is now available to developers for testing purposes and to help prepare your Silverlight 2 Beta two applications for the release of Silverlight two.”
I;m hearing that Microsoft is shooting to release to the Net the final Windows and Mac variations of Silverlight two.0 around the first week or so of October. Microsoft had been shooting to deliver the final Silverlight 2.0 release this past summer, according to a Microsoft blogger who published the internal Silverlight timetable to his blog.
The Softies aren;t commenting on the final release date, beyond Corporate Vice President Scott Guthrie;s blogged comment that the last release is “not that far off now.” More from Guthrie;s September 25 post:
“If you have existing (Silverlight) Beta2 applications,Purchase Office 2007, please start getting them ready for the final release - as once we release Silverlight 2,Microsoft Office 2010 Home And Student, end users that have existing beta releases installed will automatically be upgraded to use the final version. Testing your application out with the release candidate will ensure that you can easily update your applications and have them ready within hours of the ultimate release.”
Microsoft officials have said MIcrosoft planned to support a variety of operating systems and browsers with Silverlight. The company launched the Beta 2 version of Silverlight two for the Mac in June. Microsoft has given Novell its blessing (and some help) around the Silverlight port to Linux,Office 2007 Enterprise, codenamed “Moonlight.” The very first public test create of Moonlight (the Silverlight 1.0 port) was released in May 2008. The version of Moonlight supporting Silverlight 2.0 is in “pre-alpha” at this point.
Still no official word on when Microsoft will release a test version of Silverlight for Windows Mobile…. I bet we;ll hear more on that at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in late October. Microsoft has said the first release of Silverlight for Mobile will be based around the Silverlight 1.0 release.
Update: Microsoft is holding sessions at PDC on porting Silverlight 2.0 apps to Windows Mobile,Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010, one reader notes. From the PDC session list:

“In this demo-filled session learn how to extend your existing Silverlight two applications to work on Windows Mobile and how to construct rich mobile Silverlight apps that access device peripherals such as camera; GPS or WiFi or the radio stack for location; as well as mobile net services. We also talk about tooling enhancements in Microsoft Visual Studio that support Silverlight app development on Windows Mobile, what to consider when delivering eye-popping UI on mobile, and help you understand the key differences from developing Silverlight apps for the desktop.”

I;m also curious what Microsoft will/won;t say at the PDC about how Silverlight jibes with Live Mesh, the company;s synchronization platform/service. As Softie Scott Hanselman has noted, there does seem to be some connection between the two technologies. When I asked Microsoft for comment, I got back this statement from a company spokesperson:
“The Live Mesh tech preview and the Live Platform are created to connect customers with their applications, data and consumers from any device. Silverlight is a really effective way to bring common experiences to multiple devices/platforms (including in our own Live Desktop experience.) In the near future, we;ll have more to say about how 3rd parties can develop Silverlight-based applications for the Live Platform.”
Anyone been kicking the Silverlight two.0 tires? What do/don;t you like?