Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
So would you really miss Flash ?
- Thread starter daferrisda
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Seems trivial for one of the world's largest software companies to create a new web front end or at least an alternate one that does not flash.
Unless you work for Adobe.
I use Click2Flash as well, and rarely ever have to enable Flash to use a website. In fact, on the rare occasions where that was necessary, I often found an easier solution (case in point: several companies use Flash based pages for their location searches, but I found that Google Maps actually finds them quicker and presents them nicer, so I now just make a habit of using Google Maps when looking for a location of a restaurant instead of the company's website).
So no, I don't feel that I would really miss Flash on my iPad. I'm looking forward to trying it out, although I probably won't try to get one on launch day.
jW
So no, I don't feel that I would really miss Flash on my iPad. I'm looking forward to trying it out, although I probably won't try to get one on launch day.
jW
I originally bought the hype about how bad this thing was going to be without flash. On the iPhone, I can understand. It's really not a great for web use. But I swallowed the line about how terrible it would make browsing on the iPad.
Then I found this thread and tried out click2flash.
I discovered I have no great need for flash. I don't care about facebook or the games on there. I can certainly live without flash on the iPad.
Then I found this thread and tried out click2flash.
I discovered I have no great need for flash. I don't care about facebook or the games on there. I can certainly live without flash on the iPad.
This opened my eye's as to what was really content vs ads. I went thru my favorites list once I installed click2flash a few months ago and realized other than streaming sports on ESPN360 and Hulu, I don't miss a thing. Shutting down flash speeds up the experience for me by far, since I have only 3mb dl speed. Very happy I installed it.
I think if more people had an open mind and tried this and evaluated what they use vs spouting "you won't see 75% of the web!!" will see a very different result.
It's not exactly that challenging to open the activity window in Safari and double click on the video title, is it? — I don't see how HTML 5 is much different in that regard.
It's funny you ask me this because I've worked in this area for more than a decade, and have made various short films and documentaries and even sold some to TV networks. In regards to your question: nearly all of them have been uploaded to YouTube — I don't have a problem if someone downloads one of my films. But at the same time, I am very anti-piracy, and if someone distributes it on piracy networks — which has happened to me — I've found it very upsetting. However, I don't believe in DRM. I feel the solution is to block those piracy networks and websites — because I believe those are the source of the problem. Not someone downloading a video to their hard drive for personal use, or even to show to a friend or family member.
However, saying that, there are still a few ideas for rudimentary video protection in HTML 5. There's no point mentioning any of them here as they get quite lengthy and technical, but they are there, and can be found on google. At the end of the day, as you said… there is no foolproof way to protect video content when it's being downloaded to the user's computer anyway for them to watch it.
Adobe sucks at writing software. Case in point? This page's Flash element will crash. Every. Time.
http://flashcrash.dempsky.org/
http://flashcrash.dempsky.org/
Sorry - you're a bit late to the "party". This link has been posted.
But more importantly - in the last 2 weeks adobe has acknowledged this bug and is fixing it with the next release.
Flash itself is a horrible, horrible technology. It's sluggish, bloated and has more leaks than a cullender...but the fact that so many websites use flash to deliver media/games, makes it something that I want to be able to access.
Apple's silly limitations in order to "phase out" dated/bad technology while it's still popular is not something I appreciate. I disagree with them removing the floppy drives whilst they were still popular too.
Apple's silly limitations in order to "phase out" dated/bad technology while it's still popular is not something I appreciate. I disagree with them removing the floppy drives whilst they were still popular too.
I thought that until I installed clicktoflash last week to see if I "really will miss it". Turns out I will miss it because the sites I care about link to a lot of flash video. MacRumors for instance had a number of links to articles from MWSF on the front page a few days ago which had embedded youtube video in them (example) which I wouldn't have been able to view on an iPad. I also use the BBC website quite a lot and their videos are flash and so don't work. iPlayer is another flash based site which I use very regularly. TVCatchup is also another great site which is akin to Hulu. There appears to still be a lot of useful and interesting applications for flash out in the wild that I would miss with an iPad and it certainly isn't proving to be the 'whole internet in your hands' experience that Apple are promising from their magical and revolutionary device.
Having said that, I do plan on buying an iPad but whether or not it proves to be a mistake will have to be seen.
My biggest complaint is Jobs trying to pass off mobile Safari (on both the iPhone and iPad) as a "complete" browser. Remember when the iPhone was introduced? Jobs said it would browse the "real internet" - comparine it to mobile IE from Microsoft. Without Flash, it's not the "real internet". It's the internet without Flash. HTML5 is NOT an industry standard and Flash is used for much more than streaming video. Hate it if you want, but Jobs should just come out and say - "I hate Flash - this browser will NOT let you view all of the Internet. Take it or leave it." That is easy to accept. And I'd pass on the iPad for that reason. But Jobs comes to the stage saying that netbooks don't do anything well and then presents a product that can't surf the web as well as a netbook. I really don't expect Jobs to say anything other that how fantastic the device is. But the truth is still the truth.
You are absolutely correct. One can't even view sample photos taken by digital cameras, on the popular review site, DPREVIEW.COM. Flash is needed to view PHOTOGRAPHS. Apple's way SUCKS big time. Apple's disdain for Flash is a kick in the teeth to every iphone/Touch/ipad owner out there. People don't realize how much of the web uses Flash. It's for certain that Jobs doesn't or he wouldn't make his brash claims for how well the iPad will browse the web.
that was just ONE simple example, my Apple-apologist-friend... the problem is with Apple--not their potential customers, or the rest of the computing world. Remember, Apple can't seem to break the 10% barrier for Mac adoption. They limit what their products can work with; hence most of the world is PC-centric. Users just want things "to work" to quote Apple. Yet Apple is the one that dummies-down their products. go figure.
Awww!
Apple is a hugely successful corporation, so I am not convinced when you say 'the problem is with Apple'. What problem? For example, Apple completely dominates and defines the MP3 player market. Sorry they aren't bigger than they are; you can critique anything on those grounds. I'm just a dum-dum apologist though, so I'll leave you with this:
carouser:
so they have the mp3 market? this is more than an mp3 player. is that how you judge Apple? by the mp3 market success?
The iPad doesn't have simple things like multitasking, HDMI output/high def output, Flash, removable media card slot, i could go on....
so they have the mp3 market? this is more than an mp3 player. is that how you judge Apple? by the mp3 market success?
The iPad doesn't have simple things like multitasking, HDMI output/high def output, Flash, removable media card slot, i could go on....
I have been visiting DPR for over 10 years with flash off.
You can see the galleries without flash, you just need to click in a different place.
If you click the last page of the review, the sample gallery is flash.
But if you instead click on the main page "Review Samples" link, it takes you to the same galleries, but flash free. Photos in the forums/photo challenge galleries are likewise flash free.
Here for example is the samples from the latest DS3 review just posted today:
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/reviewsamples/albums/nikon-d3s-review-samples
I just went to the canon review (tsi) and selected the sample pics page. clicked on the thumbnails and got the infamous "your browser...blah blah blah. flash blah blah" message. Is everyone with an iPad going to search through all sorts of workarounds to see content they have every right to expect view, without having to jump through hoops?? Dang, man, even the Blackberry platform is about to release a new browser with Flash!
(1) iPad has a YouTube app preinstalled. So if you click on the Macrumors youtube video, you'll still be able to view it.
(2) BBC iPlayer also works on the iPhone and it will work on the iPad too.
(3) TVcatchup works on iPhones and iPads. Click on the "iPhone" button on the website, or go to http://iphone.tvcatchup.com
When the "average" person browses the web, they don't want to have to consult a list of workarounds. they simply want to go to a site that they frequent, or one that came up from a news article, Google, or StumbleUpon. They want the sites to "just work".
Now you have me wondering if you knew the non flash link all along, since even after telling you where it was, you went to wrong place on purpose just to make a point.
Even if your mobile supported flash you would want to go for the lighter flash free version.