Why I Don't Like Flash, Yet another reason Options

[Matt B]

I went to the Macromedia website to view an article and was faced with this:
I hate to say, but this is one of the finest examples of Flash UNusability, and on the Macromedia website, even.

If you can't read it it says:

Macromedia Flash Player version 7,0,19,0 was detected. To view the Edge, you need the latest version, Macromedia Flash Player 6,0,47,0. You can download the free Macromedia Flash Player now.

So, I need to download a previous version of Flash because my latest version can't read the earlier version?

What's even funnier is this page is what I found when I clicked the link to see Jakob Nielson's 117 design guidelines for Flash developers. See if it works for you.

This post has been edited by Matt B: May 5 2004, 02:21 PM

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[Rob]

Hmm the newsletter is December 2002 so it would have worked with the old player, but the new one hasn't made enough provision for backwards compatability??!!

How backwards can you get Macromedia (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Rob (who hates being asked to design sites in Flash! *must remove Flash from resume*)

** EDIT **

P.S. Matt you'll hate this (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) http://www.marumushi.com/apps/newsmap/newsmap.cfm

** EDIT OVER **

[Matt B]

Even funnier is that you can create files that are compatible with prior versions - so that users aren't always prompted to download the latest version on YOUR website. Let them be prompted on other people's websites.

But one would think that Macromedia knows this . . . .

[robwatts]

Yup, h flash too! (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Can't bookmark it, can't select text, have to hang around for it to run its silly old course, have all sorts of issues to address in getting it to appear high up for any kind of search term, can't view source...(IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

<added> Sorry, saw an opportunity to jump on a I h flash bandwagon and couldn't resist.

It does of course have some redeeming features, but I'd H to want to spoil a I H flash thread with such pollutive attributes...

</added>

[synergytheory]

That's kinda funny.

There is a fix for it, some MX components were done with upper and lower case naming. It's a very simple update to fix the problem. Its backwards compatability isn't bad at all.

Am I the only flash loving SEO in the world? (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) It has so many advantages to me.

Oh, and google now indexes flash, it needs a lot of improvment but its a step in the right direction.

Try this in google: loading filetype:swf

As I said it needs a LOT of improvment and SEO's will have to come up with new techniques. I can see it already, preloaders will be made with keywords instead of a count down.

[sherri]

I don't hate flash. This is why:

The Internet is free and open. Any site you find... there will be a dozen others with the same info. Any time I come to a site with too much/incompatible/annoying flash... I leave and go to another. If a site owners want to screw themselves with a crazy flash site... let them. It weeds out the useless sites anyway. Most sites with Flash are fluff and a waste of my time... unless I'm looking for graphical stuff in the first place.

99% of the time.. .the presence of flash is a handy sign saying "this site doesn't have what you need" .

In my opinion.

[The Great Gatzby]

To All you FLASH Haters,

Flash like everything else on the web has a place. I still think that if you had the right Flash setup most of us would never complain. A flash header on a HTML page has always looked great and not hurt the SEO side of things. However an all Flash site has never been one of my favorites and I do find myself skipping the intro 99% of the time and leave the site after a short visit. But I said Flash does have a purpose. There are some great flash sites out there. Its just 99% of them are designed like (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/censored.gif) !!! Most don't keep in mind usability and that is the real issue not Flash.

Gatzby

[Matt B]

However an all Flash site has never been one of my favorites and I do find myself skipping the intro 99% of the time and leave the site after a short visit. But I said Flash does have a purpose. There are some great flash sites out there. Its just 99% of them are designed like (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/censored.gif) !!!

Gats,

I completely agree with everything you said - it just re-enforces my opinion of Flash.

Everything you mentioned are great reasons for designers to take the time to learn their tools better. Until that happens, we will still have no more than 99% bad Flash.

Now, Flash sites for kids or entertainment are another story. When I talk about bad Flash, I am talking about corporate websites that are supposed to be sources of information, rather than hiding the information behind some splash page.

In order to make Flash usable and accessible to all web users, development time and costs would most likely triple, making good Flash a much more expensive proposition. As developers would have to learn accessibility guidelines, methods of implementation, dealing with prior versions and other coding scripts for auto-detection.

[csjavi]

Of my several hundred bookmarks, only a couple are flash. All of those are in the humour folder. Oh, some sites have some flash components like advertisements. Most of the ads are caught by my filters, though. I don't get to see them. I've learnt not to notice the ads. I haven't seen anything useful done with flash that couldn't be done with html.

[sherri]

However..... I HAVE seen a site with Flash that was nearly perfect.


The site had a banner and navigation in Flash. The content was HTML. It auto detected if I had flash support and showed either the flash or plain images based on the detection. It also had a nice button that said turn flash off. Instead of going to an ugly nonflash page... It simply replaced the banner and nav bar with a non flash solution that looked darn close to the flash stuff. Brilliant. It remembered my choice as I went through the site.

I've experimented with that for one of my sites as well.

Problem is... once most Flash designers get their hands on a site. They like to go all the way with flash. Beauty is created when flashers and coders work together.

(IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/thumbup1.gif)

[eomedia]

I haven't seen anything useful done with flash that couldn't be done with html

I agree that you can do most things with HTML (or Cold Fusion in my case) - but I can give you one useful thing that I don't think you can do as nice w/out flash.

Using the Open Socket XML connection with flash you can get real time data updates without constantly refreshing the page. We use to great effect with real time artist/title data in our player - would hated to have done that without flash.

[peter_d]

a site owners want to screw themselves with a crazy flash site... let them. It weeds out the useless sites anyway.

That's a good way of putting it.

I'm struggling to recall a 100% flash site that actually said anything. They're so consumed with how they say it, and tend to consist of advertising fluff anyway.

Flash = Fluff

[ghergich]

Not every site is all about information. Some site are promoting an attitude with their branding, and flash works well with that. Flash is good for someone creating a mood. Yes you can do this in html but the interactivity of flash trumps html every time. You just need to know when to use flash...and that is seldom. I hate intro's why would a designer create something that they then have to place a skip this button next to....Some day soon google will be able to spider flash text and then it will be a good SEO option until it should stick to branding.

[peter_d]

Flash has it's uses. It's good for demonstations.

Flash can be good for branding, in so much that someone looking at it might be impressed with your brand. But I don't think anyone visits a website simply to be impressed with the brand.

The site needs to inform. A flash website can inform, but most flash sites seem to have so little to say. I don't know why that is, but I suspect it is because too much emphasis is placed on form. This suits brochureware, of course.

Fluff.

[braindead]

Ok, no. Flash is useless only 90% of the time. But on high speed cable, and a good sound system, a visit to widegroup.net can be a great experience. I love that site. I want one, actually, but the reality of the impracticality of Flash convinces me otherwise.