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Scribd Switches To HTML5
drfreak writes "This story from OSNews describes Scribd, a site for uploading and reading documents, switching from Flash to HTML5. The major reason for the decision was that HTML5 supports all the major points of the site's previous functionality, so they saw no point in using Flash any more. The big improvement in the rollout is that documents are now first-class citizens of HTML and no longer need to sit in a Flash 'window.'"
Completely blank page (scribd) until I enabled flash. I can't stand sites that have the most basic shit (plain text, etc) in flash. How is that even necessary? Good move getting off that Flash addiction.
'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.' - Mao Tse-tung
Their own introduction:
http://www.scribd.com/documents/30964170/Scribd-in-HTML5
Near as I can tell, they thought keeping fonts the same as an original doc was important, and browsers didn't used to be able to handle downloading fonts.
What the hell does some random site changing browser tech have to do with the rest of the 97 percent of the computing world that doesn't give a damn about Apple and their products?
Just because we don't care about Apple, that doesn't mean that we want Flash; I'll celebrate the day I can finally uninstall that bloated swamp of security holes from all my PCs.
You do realize that Scribd HTML5 has nothing to do with video, right? The main features they were looking for are proper (better) layout and web fonts.
Scribd is more of a pain than a useful tool. It's basically an online PDF viewer, one which makes content non-downloadable. It takes away functionality; you can't select and cut text. So it's really more a form of DRM than anything else.
You can get most of the same effect by rendering your document to PDF with the page size set to "trade paperback".
Can we quit calling everything that uses HTML5 video "HTML5"?
I'd be happy to but... what the hell are you talking about"
Scribd is all documents, all the time. As in things you read?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
This is a story targeted at the hardcore Apple Hipster Douchebags
I wasn't aware Android users were "Apple Hipster Douchebags".
Because after all, this means all Android users will be able to use Scribd now. Not just the select few with the very latest devices WHEN Flash support arrives on Android.
After all, these are DOCUMENTS we are talking about. Why should they not be easily readable on any mobile device, not just those few that support Flash (which currently is none).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
So far as I can tell this is mostly just html4.1 plus some web-fonts thrown in (which is properly css3), and a bunch of mostly browser-specific css. Not really html5. They mention canvas in their introduction, but I haven't come across an example.
Certainly looks better than the flash, but take a look at the source code and it'll make your eyes bleed. So much for semantic code - there are spans and divs up the wazoo.
You mean an open standard won out over a proprietary implementation?
Flash is about to be marginalized. It will happen quickly, in much the same way as the open HTML/DOM/Javascript beat out over 20 years of Microsoft "innovations" such as VB and .NOT. And in much the same way as Android is about the slaughter the iPhone.
See, open standards usually follow proprietary "trail blazers". Once the standard has been defined, copy-cats move in and do the same things, cheaper.
Apple originally won the desktop computer war, then lost it to the more open (and less expensive) Microsoft, which finally is losing it's lead to the even more open (and inexpensive) web/SOAP API. Apple got it right again with the iPhone, but is already losing it again with the highly proprietary iPhone now rapidly losing market share rapidly against the more open Linux/Google/Android platform. (Android's 4x marketshare growth in a single month - WTF!?!)
As a note, I have an HTC WinMo phone right now, but my next phone will almost assuredly be... Android!
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Heh. If you get to the end of the high quality introduction, you're presented with a link to the people that drew all of the images:
http://www.specialagentproductions.com/
Yeah, their site doesn't work unless you enable Flash. Pretty funny after the whole "get rid of proprietary formats" and "free your documents online" thing...
coding is life
In my Safari and Chrome it works perfectly fine. Are you sure you're not doing something wrong?
Do one of the following:
1. Click on the "See this document in HTML mode" link to the right
OR
2. Replace "doc" in the address bar with "documents"
Check http://www.scribd.com/documents/30964170/Scribd-in-HTML5, it has a blue box to the right, with the title "Reading just got better", where you can switch to HTML5 mode
(I'd really say "HTML mode" since it works in IE too.... the whole HTML5 vs Flash argument for Scribd is just flamebait/publicity stunt).
Flash is like a zombie. Even though may be walking, it's already dead. It just doesn't know it. Yet.
This ain't rocket surgery.
Go to scribd.com, notice the Google Ad, click "try it now". Or, on most of their featured pages, you should be able to click "view with HTML" on the right side.
So, it's something they're trying out. It's not actually the default yet.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
You can select and copy text. I'm sure you can find a way to spider the pure HTML pages. Even if you can't, Scribd has always allowed you to download the original PDF.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
From TFA: "Every mobile phone, e-reader,computer, tablet, and pocket watch can display HTML....ok, maybe not the pocket watch!"
And maybe not the mobile phone either. WAP 1.0 phones are still about.
In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.
Don't worry, by the time you are able to do that, they will have implemented twice as much security holes directly in the browser. it might be slightly less bloated (more likely : much more bloated) and some of the holes will be advertised as "features" but they will be there nonetheless.
Why on Earth has this been moderated "troll"? I don't agree with everything in the post, but there's sure-as-hell no trolling here!
Good thing there's competition in the browser space then, innit?
Same here---sort of. Old desktop 2.4GHz P4 and scrolling causes 100% CPU usage in Firefox 3.6 which is supposed to have a decent Javascript implementation, but apparently not. I would test with Chrome, but the installer always fails on this machine with a completely useless error message. Don't know why.
That's because it's not necessarily a JavaScript issue, it's a omg-that's-a-lot-of-bad-markup (HTML and CSS) issue. And FireFox is getting more and more bloated with every release. I suspect your browser does similar on giant Slashdot threads, too?
You could have just linked to http://ezinearticles.com/?Flash-Vs-HTML5&id=4175699 where you borrowed that from, since your text formatting is on-par with Scribd's..
An idiot really? None of what I said is untrue, and it is not trolling.
Why don't you look into the story of Dmitry Sklyarov? What you will find is a company, Adobe, that not only pushed security through obscurity, but brought great shame to the US by conspiring with the FBI to horribly abuse the man.
And over what? Pointing out that Adobe Document security was a farce?
This has nothing to do with open-source, closed-source, flash-sucks, flash-rules, proprietary-platforms, whatever. What it has always been about is Adobe's behaviors defending and promoting it's business and that it has not always been in their own customers best interests.
You can claim that is trolling and hate me for it, but Adobe is a horrible company, with pretty decent development products. It does not matter to me if they really do make the best HTML5 tools in the world. They are still Adobe, and Adobe at the end of the day, has demonstrated just how dirty and nasty they are willing get......
I feel the same way about Sony. Once a rootkit malware installer, always a rootkit malware installer.
It's like an aged pedophile out of prison after 20 years. Sure, he may seem like a nice guy now, and tries so hard to (seemingly) do the right thing and smile, but you would be foolish to forget he fucked some little boy in the ass .
That's all I ever point out about Adobe and Sony. No, they don't deserve a second chance.
Its a poignant piece because of the ipad and Apples refusal to allow Flash. Its timely because it signals the death of Flash, and appropriate because HTML5 is really here, not vapor, and major sites are moving to HTML5.
I am not an Adobe hater by any means, I wish them well. I have no love of Flash, its always been too buggy and too bloated to match its usefulness. I am fairly certain you do not have to like Apple or be a fanboy to recognize this. You just have to be realistic. Flash has always been crap.
And since you love Flash everything you say will be crap too.
--Dilvish
I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
You're not wrong. Also their built-in search function just says "search coming soon".
Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
Very unlike when they say "Look Dad -- Flash!" and its always broken.
I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
So from a clients perspective (mine in this case)the HTML5 experience is slow whereas the flash experience is reasonably quick.
And from the server point of view HTML5 is slower as well...
HTML5 - Served by app04 in 1.168 secs. cpu: 1.100
Flash - Served by app10 in 0.482 secs. cpu: 0.420
What's the point then?