No Flash, now what?
 

MegaSack DRAW - 6pm Christmas Eve - LIVE on our YouTube Channel

[Closed] No Flash, now what?

40 Posts
16 Users
0 Reactions
83 Views
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

As I understand it, Apple are not allowing their machines, ipad, ipod to be Flash compatible. So... what are we supposed to use to create the same kind of simple graphical applications?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:04 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

HTML5, apparently.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:07 pm
Posts: 151
Free Member
 

That's the ipad's best feature. You can show video without flash. Flash in not needed and is simply used as a tool to annoy.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:08 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Wait what, so youtube, BBC, countless other content providers are wrong?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:10 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

So... what are we supposed to use to create the same kind of [s]simple graphical applications[/s] rubbish processor intensive ads?

FTFY


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:10 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

HTML5, apparently.

see, that's what i hear. But that makes no sense to me. I've written applications in Flash, and other programming languages and used HTML too, but i can't see how you would create Flash type applications with HTML5.

Flash in not needed and is simply used as a tool to annoy
???
How else can you write interactive graphical applications?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:12 pm
Posts: 77690
Free Member
 

If the iPad's best feature is that it can't do something, it must be a pretty piss-poor product. If it supported Flash and had a toggle switch to disable it, your head would probably explode.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:12 pm
Posts: 77690
Free Member
 

How else can you write interactive graphical applications?

Silverlight? (-:


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:13 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Wait what, so youtube, BBC, countless other content providers are wrong?

BBC and YouTube already use HTML5 for mobile content, I believe.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:13 pm
Posts: 5185
Full Member
 

Given that even [url= http://chrome.angrybirds.com ]Angry Birds[/url] is possible in HTML5, and there's plenty of alternatives for video, I'm not what Flash is particularly compelling for these days.

I'm seeing quite a few big corporates take Flash out of their standard builds now - just not needed most of the time, and it gives them one less thing that needs patching.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:13 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Really? Silverlight, but that doesn't even come close! Is that what is supposed to be the alternative?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:15 pm
Posts: 31058
Free Member
 

Innocent question: one assumes yewtube doesn't use Flash no more as I can view it on my iPhone. The only other site (ahem) I'd like to watch video from is BBC. Will they be changing anytime soon? If not, why not?

EDIT: BBC still uses flash on its website though doesn't it?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:16 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Youtube has an iphone specific app that the iPhone calls up when using it (and other sites that have created an iphone specific version of the videos).


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:18 pm
Posts: 31206
Full Member
 

Wait what, so youtube, BBC, countless other content providers are wrong?

No the technology has just moved on.

Using Flash for video was a nice stepping stone, but it is stupidly wasteful (you have to download the video player plus the video itself), means the video player can't take advantage of hardware acceleration from your graphics card (though I believe recent version of Flash may have addressed this) and means you get a thousand different buggy implementations of a simple video player.

I've written applications in Flash, and other programming languages and used HTML too, but i can't see how you would create Flash type applications with HTML5.

http://www.apple.com/html5/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/48-excellent-html5-demos/
http://html5-showcase.com/
http://html5gallery.com/


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:19 pm
Posts: 31058
Free Member
 

So if I watch a video on the BBC website, what is it? Flash or HTML5?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:22 pm
Posts: 31206
Full Member
 

The only other site (ahem) I'd like to watch video from is BBC. Will they be changing anytime soon? If not, why not?

[url= http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/360604/critics-hit-out-over-bbcs-html5-stance ]They talked about it back in 2010[/url] but AFAIK there is no commitment yet.

The BBC News app is free, plays video and is generally very good. Failing that then the SkyFire browser can play most flash-based video by converting it on-the-fly. iPlayer uses HTML5 and works fine.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:24 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

...but it is stupidly wasteful (you have to download the video player plus the video itself)...

The basis of my argument with a pro-flash designer/illustrator.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:26 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

one assumes yewtube doesn't use Flash no more as I can view it on my iPhone. The only other site (ahem) I'd like to watch video from is BBC

It's hit and miss if you view through YouTube.com. If you go through the YouTube application, as clubber says, you'll get all iOS-friendly content. The majority of BBC iPlayer content seems to be iOS-friendly.

The normal website still uses Flash, yes.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:27 pm
Posts: 31058
Free Member
 

SkyFire? Whassat den?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:28 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

skyfire is an app - basically a browser. If you open a page with video, they will stream the content via them into iPhone format so you can watch it.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:30 pm
Posts: 31058
Free Member
 

Woo!


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:31 pm
Posts: 31206
Full Member
 

SkyFire also has a handy "Privacy Mode" when you'd rather your other half didn't see the videos you've been viewing.

Y'know in case you're looking at present ideas or something...


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:33 pm
Posts: 31058
Free Member
 

Speak for yerself matey 😛

Good tip though for presents...and that...


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:35 pm
Posts: 31206
Full Member
 

Anyway to answer Charlie: when folks say "use HTML5" they generally don't means just HTML, they also mean the new CSS, JavaScript, SVG etc etc.

This might help (long!):


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:36 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Anyway to answer Charlie: when folks say "use HTML5" they generally don't means just HTML, they also mean the new CSS, JavaScript, SVG etc etc.

Yeah, I'm starting to see that, It seems that the Flash type interactivity needs to come from Javascript. It certainly doesn't look like an easy work around


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:48 pm
Posts: 31206
Full Member
 

It certainly doesn't look like an easy work around

Not sure it is supposed to be. 🙂 If you were making websites that [u]depend[/u] on Flash then you were doing it wrong anyway 😀


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 3:57 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

it wasn't websites, it was graphical applications


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:02 pm
Posts: 1680
Full Member
 

It certainly doesn't look like an easy work around

JavaScript is easy!
SVG is easy!
HTML/CSS? easy!
Design? Hard. So if you're any good you'll be OK whatever.

For businessy stuff, if I was a Flash developer I'd start looking at things like Ext.JS/Sencha, and think hard about my future training requirements.

For the design driven stuff, I think that designers locked into the Adobe Photoshop/Flex/Flash infrastructure will ensure that magazine/branding style sites will continue to get made in Flash for a little while yet, but no-one actually uses these sites do they?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:04 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Well, I've found JavaScript easy for easy stuff, but it ain't that easy!
SVG? Wassat then?
HTML and CSS fine

I am good!
No, I'm not a Flash developer, in terms of employment. A lot of my work is about graphical / visual representations of concepts, these often involve interaction and Flash is a good way of creating the interfaces which facilitate understanding

edit: Is Sencha not more phone-based?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:12 pm
Posts: 33524
Full Member
 

I was talking to our web designer at work who is conversant with Flash. He can't understand why anyone in their right mind would use Flash when there are much better alternatives. He hasn't used Flash for several years. The whole point with web video is that it should be viewable in any browser that you care to use. Flash is a proprietary product that you have to download and install in order to view Flash video. That goes against the whole idea of the web being totally open. The fact that Flash player is free is irrelevant, you should not need to install it at all. That's Apple's position, backed up by the fact that Adobe didn't even have a workable mobile Flash player until late last year supports their stance. My old Nokia N95 couldn't play Flash video, sites would ask for Flash to be downloaded, I'd do so, and nothing happened. The fact my iPhone won't play Flash video doesn't bother me for one single second; if a site requires Flash for me to see content I might be interested in, then they've lost me as a potential customer, I just find the next site on google that doesn't require it and take my custom there. Their loss, not mine. I'm not really bothered about video sites either, on 3G it just sucks bandwidth and eats my meagre data allowance. YouTube and Vimeo work fine for the few occasions I can be arsed to look at video on my phone. Adobe have sort of given in a built new tools into CS to allow Flash created content to be exported as HTML5 compatible, so those who aren't prepared to learn a new creative application can still get iOS compatible video onto the web. Simple.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:21 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Adobe have sort of given in a built new tools into CS to allow Flash created content to be exported as HTML5 compatible, so those who aren't prepared to learn a new creative application can still get iOS compatible video onto the web. Simple.

Hooray!


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:22 pm
Posts: 30656
Free Member
 

Anyone got a spare line break?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:23 pm
Posts: 77690
Free Member
 

The fact that Flash player is free is irrelevant, you should not need to install it at all. That's Apple's position,

Hang on, let's call a spade a spade here. That's not Apple's position at all.

Whilst I've never been a fan of Flash myself, you're kidding yourself if you think Apple's blanket embargo is down to anything other than political reasons; Jobs' attitude towards Adobe is well documented.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:32 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

True, after all you need a browser to look at web pages, no one seems to complain about that


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 4:47 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Jobs' attitude towards Adobe

That they make rubbish, buggy, apps which eat your resources and have loads of security holes? If so then I'm right with him there.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 5:09 pm
Posts: 91097
Free Member
 

Nikon S800?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 5:14 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

That they make rubbish, buggy, apps which eat your resources and have loads of security holes? If so then I'm right with him there.

Pretty much as I expected, I thought you'd be a [b]big Jobs[/b] fan


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 5:14 pm
Posts: 30656
Free Member
 

Pretty much as I expected, I thought you'd be a big Jobs fan

So to suggest Adobe have a bit of form when it comes to producing fairly unwieldy bits of software, is to automatically side with Apple?

With us or against us, eh?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 5:18 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Did you? Why's that then?


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 5:18 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

😆


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 5:37 pm
Posts: 5
Free Member
 

Omg this is like MAC vs pc... such polarized opinion. Flash has its uses as does jquery, css etc etc. They are all just tools to do a job. As someone kind if mentioned up there learning programmes or languages is easy, being a good designer is not.


 
Posted : 23/05/2011 5:55 pm