On Sat, 02 Feb 2002 15:38:12 -0600 annrkiszt wrote: At 01:40 PM 2/2/02, I had written:
>> Flash is a very bloated plugin distributed by Macromedia. I think >> it works only with Windows browsers. You have to keep upgrading >> to the latest and greatest version of the plugin so that it will >> slow your system down to the point where the typical Windows >> dummy will go out and buy a more modern and faster computer to keep >> up with all the new fascinating gizmos on today's modern web. Web >> sites designed for use with the Flash plugin will provide lots of >> dazzle and animation. The dummies think it's so cool. Most of us >> on this mailing list would of course prefer to just have fast >> access to information and we would rather forego the glitz because >> of the detrimental effect it has on our system speed and the time >> required to download a web page. > You know, this is awfully impolite and biased describing. I have not > found > that my desire for upgrades is driven by a need to see more macromedia > flash. I have not needed to upgrade my flash capabilities in three > years. I am not a dummy and I LIKE flash. I like to go watch > cartoons > rendered in flash at www.spumco.com I love watching Liquor George. > An AVI > file for the same purpose would take a LONG time to download by > comparison. > I do think it's over used these days. there are a lot of webmasters > wasting time on Flash to do what plain old html could do just fine, > the > music and animations get on my nerves. I do find your description > lacking in information and overly ripe with insult. Flash is a > multimedia animation tool. It incorporates sound and animated > graphics in a single file with greater compression than avi or mpeg > formats. Unlike avi or mpeg it also allows for user interactivity. > Hence > it's popularity. flash is used for building games, creating animated > site > maps and providing demonstration graphics. > I remember one weekend in a community of mine when a large number of > the > INTELLIGENT members of this community were engrossed in a silly > exercise of > seeing who could fling a cow further, using a simple flash based > game. Another time it was spanking a monkey, the flash measured the > "speed" of the "spank". > Now you can sit and debate the intellect required for such silly games > but > I know these people and have seen them demonstrate good intellect. > Being > able to play and enjoy silly diversions is no indication of fitness to > survive nor qualification for MENSA. > Please have a little more consideration for the world and it's > inhabitants, > it will lend you more grace which at this moment you are sadly > lacking. > I feel insulted. Very nice rant, annrkiszt. You have done a very good job at stating your position. I too am very much aware of the value of multimedia presentations, even though I may not be as intelligent as you. The problem I see with Flash is that it is being used far too frequently on web sites. It is locking out the people with slow computers and connection speeds and with non-Flash enabled browsers. Many people are visiting web sites primarily for the purpose of searching for straight-up textual information. In many cases animated graphics and sound may be used to present information in a much better way than by what can be done with text alone. IMHO webmasters would do well to offer the web site visitors an option to download a multi-media presentation package instead. Another good thing that webmasters could do would be to refer users of non-Flash enabled browsers to an ordinary HTML web page instead. Many webmasters are doing just that, but there are far too many webmasters who are locking people out entirely. My use of the term "dummies" was meant in a context different from the way you have interpreted it. Of course we know that very intelligent people like yourself have cultivated an appreciation for the great educational and artistic value of multimedia presentations. The "dummies" are those who think that everybody who isn't "cool" enough to be using the latest Micro$oft operating systems and the fastest possible CPUs and connection speeds should be scorned and snubbed and locked out of the web. People who are using SurvPCs are beginning to feel very much insulted by the increasing number of web sites that are turning them away. All the best, Sam Heywood -- This message sent by BasicLinux
