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Clearly WATCHING a movie or PLAYING a video game is not art.

Are you certain? Watching a movie, I'll grant you that, as everyone watches in much the same way (unless they decide to be horribly disruptive).

But no two people play a game in the same manner, unless they strictly follow a script and play with exactly the same set of start conditions and rules. For some, a guy playing a game might seem trite and uninteresting, but there is a market of recording and/or watching masters of the game-- to the point of calling their play-throughs "performance art".

Not every activity can be dismissed as "not art".

I don't understand why people mix up Flash and Flash video all the time. The latter is a small subset of the former. Can you really not conceptually tell the difference between a video playing at youtube and the content at http://www.homestarrunner.com/ ?

Because for the most part, Flash is used for video. If it wasn't for sites like YouTube, Flash would be 99% used for crap (ads and the like) and 1% used for useful materials (like homestarrunner). But because YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion and the like have Flash Video, it skews the usefulness of Flash upwards. I'm sure the reason people complained about the lack of Flash on the iPhone was not "I need my HSR!" but "I need my YouTube!".

Most people will probably be happy with their video sites working and "not supporting" the rest of Flash.

I've used full mobile flash before, and it's awful. All those flash ads suddenly appear and now your webpage takes forever to render because that ad consumes all the CPU cycles. Scrolling beocmes herky-jerky and random as lack of CPU means your scroll tap takes longer to process (and you probably already tapped several times by then). If your device supports native playback of flash video, then a FLV ad causes the player to start up and you to watch the first second or two of the ad as it pops open the player while you try to cancel out so you can see your web page. If not, then you go to places like YouTube and see dropped frames on the low-quality streams. Or, brilliantly, I went to see a video that locked up the device so badly, the easiest way to get out was to remove the battery (it wasn't hung - it played a few frames every 30 seconds or so, and a second of audio around the same time - a strange codec was used that consumed crapload of CPU cycles leaving none for the OS).

Can you really not conceptually tell the difference between a video playing at youtube and the content at http://www.homestarrunner.com/ ?

With NoScript installed, they do look pretty much the same ;}
Neither work without the Flash plugin for your browser as well.

To any normal person, that means they are the exact same thing.

Granted though, a slashdotter getting confused is a tad odd and worthy of mocking.

I don't understand why people mix up Flash and Flash video all the time. The latter is a small subset of the former. Can you really not conceptually tell the difference between a video playing at youtube and the content at http://www.homestarrunner.com/ ?

I think perhaps you meant to type HomeStar Runner?

Yeah, there's something comical about a villain who is taken down so easily. Reminds me of this cartoon about an incompetent criminal.

He does it the same way Strongbad does

Peasant's Quest (Oh, wait, that one's been done)

Kids can be so cruel. (Just the first minute or so.)

This article doesn't reveal a whole lot of why kids get bullied in general, but it does at least help identify which kids are more likely to get bullied.

Those big, floppy things they invented before they made hard disks.

There are very few thing that can truly be done with a 486 in 2009:

I was going to say start a blog, but alas you need a newer machine for that these days.

There are very few thing that can truly be done with a 486 in 2009:

I was going to say start a blog, but alas you need a newer machine for that these days.

I'll second the Penumbra games. They were FP without the S. Minimal amounts of killing, good atmosphere, with tons of moderately challenging puzzles to solve. Very reasonably priced as well.
 
The World Of Goo has a very functional linux port, and is one of the better games I've played in years.
 
I haven't been back to the Kingdom of Loathing for a year or so due to time constraints, but it's a pretty damn fun browser game. Free to play, but you can buy vanity items to help support it. And, of course.....TROGDOR!!!!!.......TROGDOR!!!!! ...ahem.

Homestarrunner has one of the best pixellated, beeps-for-sounds, games available on the net.

And yes, they are in flash, and you can play them right in the webpage. Much humorous in-game reference too. Try "Trogdor".

And the Compy... just peed my carpet.

the kind of typo like when you write "the" twice, and noone notices

Wait, I thought Noone was using Windows? He sure does get around!

You could be forgiven for not knowing this, but Noone's a she.

How do you pronounce Noone? Like the time? NOO NEE? NOO UN? Is one of the n's silent? Wich one?

It's new-nee, and it's a she.

I'm an idiot.

Ohhhhh... If you want it to be possessive,
It's just "I-T-S."
But if it's supposed to be a contraction,
Then it's "I-T-apostrophe-S,"
Scalawag.

It's an electrically charged net that we use to catch runaway robots.

What's a robit?

(transcript)

That's because you've never visited Homestar Runner!

But yeah, unless it's some kind of entertainment, a fully flash website is just silly.

CGNU Video Conference System Gets 3D From Cheap Webcams

> You can't get ye flask!

Strong Sad on caffeine

Naa, I like Trogdor more.

Burninating the countryside. Burninating the Peasants. Burninating all the people in their THATCHED ROOF COTTAGES!!!!

THATCHED ROOF COTTAGES!

Great. Enabling the next generation of lightswitch raves.

404'd

I'd suggest you start here. The explaination of differences between a hard drive and a floppy is especially effective. Modify as needed for your own audience. Use of a lucca libre mask is optional, but recommended if you want to hold the respect of a class of 4th graders.

"the system...is down
the system... is down
down down down down doww
dodo dododoo dodo dododoo"

a sample (flash required)

It's nort my jorb te tell yeahs, but praps ole Coach Z conterberted to da summrry.

The system is down, yo!

Who's the Jaunty Jackanapes with Moxy and Pizazz?

What could ever replace the durability of magnetic tape? Duct tape maybe.

I mean your bog standard flash Strongbad emails. Amusingly the podstar m4v video cant be downloaded through the s60 Browser (it gives an "Unsupported type" error), though it will play if downloaded via the Nokias Podcast application, or if copied to the phone (via Bluetooth, USB etc).

OK, it's up.

"Is there an app that is truly essential to the everyday net user and/or developer that is written in Flash?"

Yep, there is. Homestar Runner.

Yes, really!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/trogdor.html

What, like this?

There's also a Trogdor arcade machine in the basement of Strongbad's house in Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive etc. etc... But I haven't been able to play it yet - the joystick's broken & we're waiting for parts that Strong Sad has ordered.

http://www.homestarrunner.com/trogdor.html

Like this game?

Back in 2005, they actually did make a great flash game for their website called Sinkoman 20X6. It was a platform game that paid homage to Mega Man, and contains tons of H*R in-jokes, as usual. Unfortunately, they stopped updating right before the final level, leaving us with a 3 year old cliffhanger.

http://www.homestarrunner.com/fhqwhgads.html

Here is a link to the main Homestar site:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

Here is a link to Strong Bad animated emails:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

I highly recommend the following episode:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html

Here is a link to the main Homestar site:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

Here is a link to Strong Bad animated emails:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

I highly recommend the following episode:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html

Here is a link to the main Homestar site:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

Here is a link to Strong Bad animated emails:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

I highly recommend the following episode:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html

I think the other replies pretty much sum up the answer to the nerd points question, but I'll try to sum up what this is about.

Strong Bad is a fictional character created by The Brothers Chaps of Homestar Runner, a very popular Flash cartoon series.

While the name would suggest that the toons are about Homestar, the majority of them come from a section of the site called "Strong Bad Emails", in which Strong Bad answers e-mails sent to "his" e-mail address (strongbad [at] homestarrunner [dot] com) by the readership.

TFA is about the first episode in a video game starring Strong Bad. As a side note, in case you didn't know, Telltale Games are the good folks who gave us the (modern) adventures of Sam & Max. Great stuff.

      --- Mr. DOS

I have absolutely no idea what this story is about. Might as well be in Farsi. How many nerd points do I loose? Anyone want to fill me in for the benefit of anybody else in my shoes?

Strong Bad is a character featured on the popular animation web site homestarrunner.com.

The write-up concerns a downloadable game written for the Nintendo Wii gaming console that uses Strong Bad and other characters developed by homestarrunner.

Hey, you. NO LOAFING!

Get Strong Bad to take it...

"Hold on tight, The Cheat -- we're blastin' offa TO THE MOOOOOOOON!"

I can't think of any case where I've seen a Flash-only site where Flash added anything of substance

Fail.

Someone has never seen Homestar Runner... I'll even give you the link http://www.homestarrunner.com/

And if those interests and hobbies can overlap with an educational game, which doesn't even have to be on the computer, I suggest that kids can be captains of the gravy train. http://www.homestarrunner.com/vcr_homsar.html