As part of the Patch Tuesday updates delivered on May 8, Microsoft quietly delivered a minor refresh to Silverlight.
The new version (called in one place on Microsoft's Web site 5.1, but which actually seems to be 5.2) is the first Silverlight update Microsoft has delivered since December 2011, when it rolled out Silverlight 5.
Update: Actually, the update seems to be 5.1 and not 5.2. Folks who are downloading it are reporting it is showing up as 5.1. So the 5.2 seems to be the typo on the Microsoft site. I've asked Microsoft to confirm the version number. Still no official word so far.
Silverlight fans shouldn't get too excited and consider the 5.1 update as evidence that Microsoft plans to continue to put efforts into furthering its Silverlight browser plug-in and Web, desktop and mobile development platform. Microsoft occasionally advances the version number of some of its products -- Internet Explorer, for example -- when it delivers a patched and updated version as part of its Patch Tuesday set of security updates and fixes.
What's new in Silverlight 5.1? Here's a list of some of the updates, which include performance, reliability and security improvements, according to Microsoft:
Microsoft officials have continued to decline to comment on the future of Silverlight beyond the Silverlight 5 release. Inside and outside the company, the word is that Silverlight 5 (and its various minor updates) will be the last major version of the platform. Microsoft said in December that the company will support Silverlight 5 until 2021.