subvisual » apple http://subvisual.net busy days, full head… must write this stuff down. Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:16:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 The HTML5 and Adobe Flash debate resolved: use the right tool for the job http://subvisual.net/ideas/the-html5-and-adobe-flash-debate-resolved-use-the-right-tool-for-the-job/ http://subvisual.net/ideas/the-html5-and-adobe-flash-debate-resolved-use-the-right-tool-for-the-job/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:50:50 +0000 adam http://subvisual.net/?p=205 I’ve been reading every opinion in my feeds following the fallout of the iPad launch. I think it’s fascinating to see how quickly people are polarised. There are a lot of angry Flash developers out there, and a lot of smugness coming from the other side.

I will admit that I like developing with both ActionScript and JavaScript/HTML.  I think both the Flash Platform and the Browser show great potential for different purposes. And each has its problems when misapplied. So what’s new? As developers we face these choices with our technology every day. So Flash isn’t on the iPad or iPhone. Does it matter that much? It’s a single device platform with a visionary design. It should be applauded. But we are not creating interactivity for a monoplatform world. Innovation will mean there is something that outwits the iPhone OS. Necessity will require us to adopt new, unchartered and non-standard solutions. Interaction design and communication technology is not all about LED screens and input devices.  Principles will still be the same: make things for people not for technologies.

There is so much to say on this subject, it opens up so many juicy channels of opinion, debate and evidence. Is this about openness? Is it about innovation? Is it about standards? Is it about winners or losers? Ultimately the debate is good for the web development community, and it’s time we all had a chance to define some thinking about these issues in this landscape. The launch of the iPad may be a watershed moment for more reasons than innovative touchscreen technology and eBooks saving the publishing industry.

I think the ball is in Adobe’s court right now. They could really turn this around to their favour. Open source the Flash Platform completely? Support the development and adoption of the HTML standard by giving developers more great tools? Make Flash  better and more essential to everyday browsing? Make a FlashPad device?

Ray Valdes on Gartner probably offers the best and most balanced overview of the issues that face us as media producers for these platforms.

]]> http://subvisual.net/ideas/the-html5-and-adobe-flash-debate-resolved-use-the-right-tool-for-the-job/feed/ 1 links for 2009-12-18 http://subvisual.net/bookmarks/links-for-2009-12-18/ http://subvisual.net/bookmarks/links-for-2009-12-18/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:10:53 +0000 adam http://subvisual.net/notes/links-for-2009-12-18/
  • Please Scroll
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  • War? There’s an iPhone app for that | Technology | guardian.co.uk
    My first thought was, surely the military would not expose itself to the risks of a consumer device? But then I thought it is inevitable that technology as ubiquitous as the iPhone seems to becoming gets put to some usage that many of us would not feel comfortable with. It’s usually the other way round anyway, we get the military gadgets that have been civilianized. But as the article points out – the applications have their place in disaster emergency situations.
    (tags: iphone technology apple apps)
  • How to recognise a good programmer
    Another checklist to run your decisions by. There is probably a lot of sense in this article, but the truth is, when you are in the interview situation, from either side of the table, you know when you have a match. Sure there are basic skills that must be met, but most important is the idea that you can work with this person. If you’re starting from a checklist, you are probably starting from the wrong angle.
    (tags: interview jobs programming)
  • Rally Wants To Bring Location Back To Its Core, With Only Your Real Friends.
    I haven’t so far really got into Foursquare. I have checked in a few places, but no-one else I know is playing. (Let me know if you are) This aims to be even more limited in terms of social circles – and I agree with the principle. I think there is something to be said for deeply valuable connections over multiple, transient ones. Unless you’re like me and no one else you know is playing, in which case you have to resort to real conversations, perhaps face to face.
    (tags: apps iphone socialmedia)
  • The secrets behind menu design – (37signals)
    No not user interface menus. Some good business principles here taken from restaurant menus, understanding what you really have of worth to offer your clients and users, and what they are willing to pay for. The basic idea: know your customer.
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  • Dishwashers, and How Google Eats Its Own Tail
    Paul Kedrosky points to what could be Google’s weakness, whereby it is the victim of its own success and via adword fuelled top search results its search results become useless to the average user. Google eats its own tail. This of course assumes the giant is incapable of accommodating a changing landscape and reacting to this threshhold. Will a new pattern emerge?
    (tags: google advertising seo future)
  • Using Google Reader “Send To” with WordPress | thingelstad.com
    This could be useful for my blogging workflow!
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