Microsoft Showcases Tafiti Silverlight Tech Demo
Recently, Microsoft released a technology demo, named Tafiti, as a showcase for thier new Silverlight web browser extension. This demo allows the user to execute web searches and then browse the results in different data visualization structures and also save searches for later. While not meant to be a finished product, Tafiti supposedly represents the new possibilities in data visualization and user interaction that Silverlight unlocks.
Tafiti is Tasteless
However, Tafiti has left some users unimpressed. A quick scan of the forums at OSNews or ArsTechnica gives the feeling that people wanted a bit more than just cheap eye candy, flawed interaction design, and annoying pop-up windows. 
I couldn’t agree more. The moment before I clicked on the link for Tafiti, I had high hopes that Microsoft would silence the nay-sayers with something really amazing, like a few of the WPF demos I’ve seen. Needless to say, I (quickly) left Tafiti very disappointed. Not only did it feel a little TOO hacked together (even for a tech demo), but bad UI design decisions and lack of any real innovation in terms of visualization left me devoid of that “WOW” feeling. Let’s hope Microsoft picks something better next time. If you want to see a cool Silverlight application, check out Terralever’s game, Zero Gravity. Once you understand how they developed it you’ll begin to get an idea of what Silverlight can really do.
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