Are you getting tired of all the Flash-based "improvements" that websites use?
Asked by
Kraigmo (
9055
)
October 16th, 2009
Sites like AOL mail and Excite mail, and Myspace Music Player, and other sites, have “improved” their entire platforms by making them entirely flash-based. (Which means your browser’s back and forth buttons won’t work on them either).
Aren’t you tired of these clunky so-called “improvements”?
Isn’t the speed and operability of a website more important than how gooey and pretty it looks?
Take Fluther for example… no Flash (except for maybe in the instant editing feature? It works so well I doubt its Flash). Do you realize how slow and bug-ridden it would be, if they switched over to Flash? Another aspect of Flash, is that designers can never get it right. There’s always some annoying bug that lingers.
Do you know of any flash-based website that actually works? I know of only one… Pandora. And even in their case, it would work even better if they gave up the Flash.
Aside from being used when necessary (such as Youtube videos and games), can you think of anytime it has actually improved things?
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8 Answers
yup
proprietary platforms are the way of the past.
Yes! I like simple. Simple works for me.
Yes, flash, silverlight, and their ilk are seriously over-used.
Another problem with Flash is that it still is not 64-bit compatible, so I have to use a 32-bit browser to use Pandora and many other sites. Microsoft’s Silverlight is much better for that.
Still, I agree that Flash/Silverlight sites are overrated. I work for California’s IT group. We are federally mandated to make sure that all of our sites are ADA-accessible. It almost all cases, Flash does not work for us. We do have some luck with Silverlight, though.
Kraigmo,
I agree. It is a pain. Why can’t designers learn that less is often more when it comes to people interacting, navigating and finding information on their site?
Really, I’m annoyed by anything that designers do that prevents me from controlling my own browsing experience. Links that pop up in new windows without controls, sites that prevent me from using my back button or right clicking for more info, etc. Use animation where you need animation, but don’t use it where html would be just as good.
I remember an old web design guide I read once, back in the pre-broadband days, that said to avoid images. That’s pretty silly advice these days, but simplicity and speed should be the goal, for sure.
I do some flash development and even I think that flashes place should be limited. There are flash sites that I do really enjoy (www.ff0000.com) but it doesn’t belong on sites that are supposed to serve a practical purpose. I like to use it for banner ads, games, video players, and cartoons.
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