Slashdot Mirror
Macromedia Pushes Flash For All Things Web
nakhla writes: "This article at News.com details how Macromedia is expanding its Flash product to be more of an all-in-one web solution. Rather than relying on HTML codes to design web pages and embedding Flash as one component, Macromedia wants Flash to be used to design the entirety of a site. Pre-built components, such as scrollbars and buttons, are included to allow designers to write everything using the new Flash product. With websites becoming more and more complex, and the trend to move towards providing web services rather than application software, could something like this be the answer? The article also mentions how Macromedia is on a campaign to have its Flash plugin included in all Internet-compatible devices. How long before we see a Qt based plugin for the Qtopia handheld project?"
...everything looks like it should be done in flash. That's assuming you hit yourself in the head with the hammer first. Ah.... Macromedia. The company that made "skip intro" such a familiar phrase. I come not to curse it, but to praise it.
Flash is great for cartoons. It's great for little games and gimmicks on your site. That's it. End of story.
If I want cross platform development, I'll use something I can commit to: Java, C if it's applicable, C# if it turns out that I have to.
If Macromedia wants to compete with Java, great. Another VM/language combo with multimedia capability is welcome. That doesn't mean I'm going to use it instead of HTML--just like I wouldn't try to use Java in place of HTML.
I realize that as a corporation, they have a duty to shareholders to try and expand into as many markets as possible. Why, if it were possible to crack nuts with Flash they would be remiss in their duty to shareholders if they didn't tout that.
That doesn't mean I have to buy it. Web developers that do are just asking to have their site ignored. If a page takes more than a few seconds to load, and there is an alternative (and there usually is) I hit "back".
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
.. big companies encouraging the use of closed standards nobody else can do anything with.
If Macromedia really want to make the web a better place, they should concentrate on SVG, working with the W3C to extend it and making stuff that supports it well, not writing evil closed stuff and making sure they're the only people who can possibly support it with tools that don't even let you use the clipboard.
Of course, that will never happen, because anyone can develop an SVG tool; it's even human readable. Not something a company like Macromedia want to hear.
Hmm, can't seem to find it. Are you sure your "open sores" operating system supports accessibility at the API level?