[thelist] Jakob Nielsen /FLASH.

[Daniel E. Boen]

Alright, I have to jump into this one, it's just too juicy.  I'm a Flash
developer too.  The further I get into it, the more I love it.  Here are a
few bulletpoint arguments in favor of Flash. Warning, I'm going to chuck a
few rocks at a few unnamed heads on this list, but don't be alarmed, I'm
doing it mostly in jest.  First, here's a conversation I had with a new
client, a tattoo artist who wants to make the first good looking tattoo site
on the web.  This is a pretty accurate transcription of the conversation,
but a tiny bit of paraphrasing naturally.  There's some semi edited salty
language on the part of the tattoo artist, so put your pc earplugs in if
needed:

Me: there's a lot of tattoo sites out there.

Client: and they're all garbage.

Me: agreed, they don't present content decently, they look awful and they're
no fun.  Tattoos are all about fun visuals.

Client: exactly.

Me: The thing is, if we have a high end site like that, one of the
complaints I get from some clients is that some clients with older
computers, older browsers and such might have trouble viewing the site
because they're not up to date

Client:  Well my view on that is that if they can't afford a new f*cking
computer they can't afford one of my tattoos and I don't want to deal with
them.

Me: You're my kinda guy.  The other complaint is that people worry about
having to download the new plugin, which is default with all new browsers
but there are some who don't have it -

Client: How f*cking hard is that?  I'm not dealing with librarians here...

Me: I'm just giving you some of the arguments against what I do, just to
make sure Flash is the way to go

Client: It's just gotta present the stuff in a logical manner, it's gotta
look great and it's gotta work.


The point is this:  Flash is an entirely different beast from HTML
obviously, and it has its pluses and minuses.  Good Flash is as good as
HTML, great Flash surpasses it because animation can enhance the user
experience, look and feel, and YES, USABILITY, in that it can illustrate how
to use the site.  There are limitations yes, but my god it does things way
beyond the scope of HTML.  Usability will improve with the next version of
Flash (which I've gotten a good preview of recently), along with a lot of
special features which will make the platform truly spectacular.

What the Flash naysayers are missing is this:  Flash has the power to create
its own environment.  It doesn't take that much imagination to pretend that
the browser window isn't there, or that it's okay for a popup window to come
out and show you some weird stuff, etc.

The platform is so vibrant and energetic when it is utilized properly that I
find it beyond criticism - what makes a poor Flash site?  A poor Flash
designer.

Don't be a bunch of squares. You all sound like you've been coding for the
web since the Johnson administration.  Loosen up and look at some great
Flash:  http://skyscraper.paregos.com/


Oh - remember, I said *mostly* in jest.   Dan Donaldson, your "rice bowl"
remarks earn you a giant Dickhead sticker across your, uh, dickhead.




dan donaldson2/27/02 4:49 PMdan at omnivore.ca

>
> On Wednesday, February 27, 2002, at 02:13  PM, Luther, Ron wrote:
>
>> Here's a slightly different take. I'd like to have and learn Flash here
>> at the office in order to IMPROVE "usability". ... albeit a slightly
>> different kind of "usability".
>>
>> I'm in an intranet reporting enviroment here.  Some of the reports I
>> build have some fairly sophisticated business applications.  I can
>> write instructions until I'm blue in the face ... but if I could add a
>> 'step-by-bleeding-step' "how-to" Flash animation off to the side of the
>> on-line documentation I think it would better communicate to the
>> users ... and *improve* the "usability" of the reports.  {Pretty
>> similar to the 'how to use your new model cell phone animations'.}
>>
>> It's not likely in view of current budgetary restrictions, but I think
>> the documentation-enhancement potential or 'teaching' aspects of Flash
>> could have a lot of value and "usability".
>>
>
> Have you considered using Quicktime screen captures? If what you're
> trying to do is demonstrate an existing use of a web app or some such
> situation, using SnapzPro is a fantastic, no-budget (except for the
> completely worthwhile cost of registering SnapzPro) way to do so. I've
> built whole courses out of this and it is a great way for people to
> learn. Superior to Flash in that it takes no effort beyond performing
> the actions required...
>
> HTH
>
> dan
>
> <tip type="educational techniques" author="Dan Donaldson">
>
> When you're trying to document the use of complex online applications,
> sometimes a video demo is easier for users learning your system to
> absorb than printed documentation. Capturing screen activity to a
> Quicktime file is simple, and allows the material to be viewed again and
> again, at the learner's convenience and pace. It also makes delivery of
> the information simple, since the resulting Quicktime files are usually
> small, and can be made available via network or on local media.
>
> SnapzPro is an excellent utility for this purpose, for Macintosh.
> </tip>



"A witty saying proves nothing"
- Voltaire

Daniel Boen
ThePlate
http://the-plate.com
612.825.2522