[alykhalid]

>However, the MS dev ecosystem is a bit daunting as the lifecycle or shelf life of their tech is never really known (Silverlight comes to mind here)

Although silverlight is not actively being developed anymore it will be supported for a considerable period of time [1]. If you have invested time to develop/learn Silverlight applications, your time was not wasted. The underlying technology (XAML) is also used for desktop (WPF), metro (windows store app) and windows phone 8 applications.

Disclaimer: My first language is not english.

1. http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/default.aspx?LN=en-us...

[seanmcdirmid]

You'll have to rip WPF from my cold dead hands. Silver light and WinRT are just poor imitations that look similar but are missing way too many features that I use dally.

[ct]

Totally agree WPF is awesome. And WinRT/Silverlight don't hold a candle to it. Only thing is WPF performance and verboseness could be better.

[seanmcdirmid]

I use WPF at a low level (no framework components beyond Canvas) in pure C# (no icky XAML); which is probably why WinRT/Silverlight are so unappealing. WPF works well for me but eventually I'll have move onto Direct2D and DirectWrite I guess, but I'll have to use a C# wrapper.