Now that Flash 8 is out, is it going to change the world?
Ok, HTML isn’t dead.. but still. From what I’ve seen (admittedly I have barely scratched the surface) I have nothing but good things to say about Flash 8 as an application. The two most important aspects (for previous earlier of flash) that I thought needed addressing were:
It seems to me that both of my issues have been significantly addressed, plus a lot more.
I do belong to the camp who uses flash more for non-essential “extras” than as the entire interface to a site, but given all the efforts made to provide accessibility options for developers I’m all for including Flash more and more in the future of web development.
Kind of black and white answers here. I don’t think Flash/HTML is an either/or thing.
Flash 8 won’t change the world. Flash 1-7 already have. :)
Of course Flash shouldn’t be used for everything, but saying it should never be used is just as radical.
Has F8 lived up to the hype? Has anything lived up to its hype: XML, Game Boy Color, Aeon Flux?
Flash 8 is fantastic and I love it, but the Macromedia PR machine went full-throttle with all thrusters at 110% the way they touted it. A lot of the cool new things they touted will take many people a very long time to learn how to use and then Flash 9 will come out.
The Flash platform is a ubiquitous framework that spans the browser, mobile, and desktop/console clients. I can see out-of-the-browser services becoming much more significant now. It’s a new frontier, with new possibilities, and new classes of applications. Let’s think beyond the browser.
The world is round and HTML is dead. In both cases it took long enough for the collective penny to drop now didn’t it. Can you imagine how much further forward we would be by now if the reactionary scaredy cats of this world could embrace good things more quickly and move on? Shiat, we would be flying about in antigrav boots on mars. Useless p4xx0rs.
No need to distinguish these two. Nowadays they just can’t live without each other. But if one force me to do it I would say “HTML is dead”.
if it werent for flash, we wouldnt have sIFR… and you cant say anything negative about sIFR.. you get your flash embedded text field, and you get Google friendliness all in one fell swoop.
Flash is awesome.. and you gotta have HTML to display in on the WWW (object/embed tags are HTML, duh) so lets be happy and say that the two really do help each other strive for greatness.
Flash should only ever be used as a visual and audible enhancement.
I dont feel it should be used as the number one thing to change the wwworld, keep html and other markup languages as the major foundation for any website and use flash as the candy on top.
Full flash sites are on their way out, but flash experiences on the web still have a long way to go to really make an impact for our users. Using more video and the new design tools included in flash 8 will be awesome.
Flash 8 is the best version yet, just i hope its used correctly and for the right reasons by the professionals.
I wish it could change the world, but this version, more than any other, makes working with old projects a chore and makes headaches for developers and users with older players installed. The “Flash Detection Script” Macromedia is touting is a nightmare for those of us developing standards-compliant websites, and attempts to externalize the 4 scripts necessary to execute the detection fail miserably.
Want Flash to change the world? Make it work with seamlessly.
Whilst Flash is certainly not taking over the world wide web just yet and whilst most people seem to be leaning away from full flash websites I think that there is a lot to be said for the Macromedia Flex/Flash combination.
I still avoid full blown flash sites and I’m sure many others do too, I’m still on dial-up cos I’m a poor ass bugger, and I’m sure there are many other poor ass buggers too, until I get broadband, I’ll stick to simple HTML sites :)
Flash has it’s places, but it still offers little in comparison to html/xhtml in the areas of accessibility, and delivery of quick, usable content (mostly on the part of designers who think 20 seconds of animation prior to a page load is what people want).
Flash 8 is a beauitful improvement, and it will make delivering high quality content that much easier on my end — but it will have it’s place, and not replace the language of the internet. For now, atleast…
I think with all the mobile devices coming out everyday, flash will remain a cool gimmick. The smart developers will continue to use it properly and the flash maniacs will continue to churn out 2MB intros and 100% flash sites.
I’m not a Flash developer nor do I use Flash extensively - it does have its place and can greatly enhance many sites. I believe that there are very few who can use it well and more so who abuse it. Flash still remains as an application/tool that I have a desire to learn. With that said, I believe the Flash 8 has made many great improvements since the last version – one of which, like Nathan said, is its handling of video and its improved ease of use.
I love Flash. I love churning out standards-compliant XHTML.
Sites that are 100% Flash are 100% retarded. Sites that are 100% content-focused are 100% boring.
There’s a happy middle ground between the two, and neither side is going to win this debate.
(SVG + AJAX = Flash Remoting)
:)
I for one don’t surf the net for the pretty pictures and kickass animations. I’m looking for useful content AND I have very little time to boot. So I don’t mind boring sites as long as they give me the information I want.
So, basically, there’s no link like a ‘Skip intro’ link.
Flash 8 is great, but I don’t consider it the best Flash release since 4.0 like Macromedia claims. I think the improvements in Flash 8 are duh factors that should’ve been implemented in MX, and if Flash really wants to change the world, it will have to become more SEO compatible (like by properly rendering loaded html.)
I dont think the options given to answer this question are very well thought out. The question was whether Flash 8 has lived up to the hype. How this turned into an argument over Flash vs HTML I don’t know. As with most professional designers I use flash to add the icing on the cake of a site. Let’s face it the web is about information and if you dont get that right then you can have the coolest looking flash website in the world and nobody’s going to check it out more than twice. Let’s focus on design for a purpose. To convey information in a way that is appeals to the audience.
I’ll go down the middle path on this one. Its all about a collabrative effort for both the technologies mentioned. Flash does kick some serious arse when it comes to ‘interactivity’, Flash Video as an example, HTML will probably remain the ubiquitious choice for a long time to come. Lets enjoy what both have to offer.
Every time a new version of Flash has been released, I’ve been told by various ppl (“flash gurus”, macromedia PR, etc.) that HTML is dead. Funny, that.
Even funnier is how now that everybody (even the pinheaded PHB) is shying away from the “OMFG WE NEED TO MAKE EVERYTHING FLASH!!!11+” way of doing websites, Macromedia/Adobe are trying the gentler “it enhances your rich media experience bla bla” angle :D
LOL HTML dead!
Flash gets in the way (literally in most cases). I will remain that way until I hear a project manager say “We’ve got a viable business case and the go ahead to use Flash” (when I may briefly reconsider)
No way flash can rule html/xhtml/xml… I still like to drag my links to the tab bar (duh) :)
as it has beem said before here, flash is the ultimate eyecandy tool, but I think ppl should avoid full flash sites (maybe one day). I also find flash no so friendly to content managment systems.
I also find flash more complex to develop than html so… good stuff is easy, dumb-proof stuff.
At least for now, the the booming of ajax, xhtml, etc.. has made a significant improvement that there is no need to have an extra player.
From search engine perspective, I know no search engine that has the ability to search flash movies without any help from the flash-developer himself.
As for now…. Great as Intros, little graphical components, but not to create a whole site with it.
You’re risking viewers, and conversion rates.
the world is not ready for all flash thats for sure
and until there is a flash dev tool like flash 8 for linux flash will not be big enough to try and take over
Flash is Flash and HTML is HTML. I can´t see we can even start compering the two.
One word: Avalon.
Yes, How can you compare two distinctively different technologies that serves different purposes of their own?
With CSS, Flash can give you your blue link and hover state. Flash can do your AJAX stuff. Flash 8 brings kick ass video with it. And many designer enhancements. Its a tremendous release!
Has he lived up to the hype? Yes.
Is HTML dead? No way in hell.
The task of ‘rich internet applications’ task is not to surpass HTML. They’re different in almost most aspects, including their target and the tasks they do well. Seriously, comparing them is like comparing a monkey to a skewdriver. Apples and Oranges.
Jesus, I should have spellchecked my post before sending it.
Flash is a different technology, and should not be campared with HTML. But i’d say Flash is a must have to give website user a rich experience.
The reality is that Flash is evolving. Html is stagnent, it depends on new and other technologies to progress. e.g. CSS, XML, JS, etc and yes even Flash.
I can see no reason to compare the Sun with the Moon. Both are totally different technologies so, I think they had and will co-exist in the future. I think instead of taking Flash as a replacement for HTML it should be taken as a ultimate supporting tool to enhance user experience on the web along with HTML. Rather, we should think of making good use of both worlds.
I wasn’t aware there was a great deal of hype. Beyond the new type engine I can’t see much worth shouting about…
Flash gets in the way (literally in most cases). I will remain that way until I hear a project manager say “We’ve got a viable business case and the go ahead to use Flash” (when I may briefly reconsider)
XHTML / CSS2 / SVG if only every browser would support this…
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