oddhammer

This entry on HTML5 and Flash needs to be read, and read again.

I remember playing with Flash 3 and animating some simple shapes around. At the time I thought it was interesting, but there really wasn't much you could do other than animating. If you wanted to code complex things then you went with JavaScript.

I also remember playing with animation through JavaScript in Dreamweaver 3 (or 4?) over 10 years ago and marveling at how it would enable me to create animation directly through JavaScript without having to use the Flash Player. But reality set in and I realized that if I wanted to reach over 90% of the users out there I should just use the Flash Player because animating with JavaScript (at that time) was a nightmare with the different browsers.

Reality is beginning to creep back into the HTML5 vs. Flash discussion and it's becoming clear that we have a few more years before the real HTML5 revolution sets in. The question is, will the users and developers wait, or will Adobe fail where Macromedia didn't?

In a move that appears to be another step away from its Flash platform, Adobe has submitted the code for its Flash-based Flex framework to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) to be managed as an independent project.  more here

Some people don't like submitting bug reports about specific issues, but would rather just complain about general problems that bug the crap out of them. For those people there is the Dear Adobe site.

I don't particularly like the idea of smearing a company for no good reason, but if the people who are using the site have submitted bug tickets and feel like Adobe is ignoring them then I guess they have every right to complain.. or just use another product. That's part of how free market economics is supposed to work? If you find a better product then use it. And if the masses yell their complaints loud enough and the company is nimble enough then it'll fix the issues and keep the business.

Here's one I found: "please allow Flash's action window to stay visible when another app is in front, sometimes you need to compare code to something else." .. been an irritation for me for years and has been reported to Macromedia and Adobe many times. It's one of those "minor" issues that becomes major if you have to use the application a lot. I'm pretty sure I saw on one of the demos or heard through the grapevine that this has been changed in CS4.. so when you have the Actions panel open and switch over to another app the Actions panel remains visible. So maybe they did react and fix that. I'll keep my fingers crossed for code folding.

If you were at FlashForward in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago you got to hear Robert Hodgin talk about what inspired him, and he showed some of his work. I had seen his work before and really liked it so it was good to hear him talk about what fuels him. Tonight I noticed that his work might be exposed to a LOT more people (if the rumor is true). That's some awesome news for him if it's not just a rumor.

Hmm.. I wonder if it'll include this one too?