what are the opinions regarding use of flash animations?

Using flash the right way is important if you wanna use flash at all. Using all the nifty tricks that can be used in flash on one website when only the most simple things are enough is the hardest for newbies I think.

A good flash website: www.lookandfeel.com
I like what they do with the menus, the sounds, music, those two little guys running around, really cool.

Enjoy!

actually I was thingking in terms of accesablity. Is anyone concerned with accessablity or are most visitors to sites using Flash compatable browsers?

Ohh ok :)

As far as I can remember the Flash plug-in is incoorporated into the Netscape 4+ and IE 4+ browser, but I'm not totally sure.

I like that lookandfeel.com website, really neat.

My opinion is:

Personall, I love flash, it's the quickest, and uses best animations I've seen.

However, in creating websites, there is still a large issue of compatibility AND speed.

A lot more people then you think are still running Windows 95 and IE 3.0. These are usually the people not in the computer industry in any way, who bought a computer several years ago, and don't plan to upgrade anytime soon. (And think you have to wait until a web page completely loads before you can click on a link.)

I am not sure if Flash works on non-Windows computers (ie: Linux/UNIX/Mac/etc.)

When I am home connected via 56k, it sometimes takes a minute to pop up a flashed page. (Java is terrible though) This may be annoying to many people.

It depends on your site really, if you run a corporate site, I would probably make sure your page is very compatible and very fast loading. If you specialized in Games, Graphics or Web Design, then maybe go ahead and load em up. :)

Neofree

Originally posted by neofree


I am not sure if Flash works on non-Windows computers (ie: Linux/UNIX/Mac/etc.)

Neofree

hehe of course it does :D.

I personally like FLASH as well, if it is done correctly. I also like a mixture of Flash and non-Flash content together. I think the main issue to be concerned with is the actual size of the Flash movie, as not everyone has access to broadband and may not choose to wait for a large file to load.

I'm all against flash:

1. Most of the time, it doesn't add more value to the web site.

2. Longer time to download.

3. It is not a standard. Flash is a proprietary format (unlike HTML or PNG). While Macromedia has released Flash format specification, its format is still defined by Macromedia without any peer review.

4. Because of #3, there are not many 3rd party products, like players or authoring tools.

5. Because of #4, most operating system distributor don't install flash by default. Some Linux distros cannot distribute Macromedia Flash player because of licensing restrictions (it is not open source), and the free alternatives are not good enough.

Fortunately there are an answer to Flash, SVG+SMIL. It is a standard defined by W3C (much like HTML and PNG). The only problem is it's still not popular.

Originally posted by priyadi
I'm all against flash:

1. Most of the time, it doesn't add more value to the web site.

2. Longer time to download.

3. It is not a standard. Flash is a proprietary format (unlike HTML or PNG). While Macromedia has released Flash format specification, its format is still defined by Macromedia without any peer review.

4. Because of #3, there are not many 3rd party products, like players or authoring tools.

5. Because of #4, most operating system distributor don't install flash by default. Some Linux distros cannot distribute Macromedia Flash player because of licensing restrictions (it is not open source), and the free alternatives are not good enough.

Fortunately there are an answer to Flash, SVG+SMIL. It is a standard defined by W3C (much like HTML and PNG). The only problem is it's still not popular.

This is my belief too. It is just so good looking it is hard not to want to incorporate it into ones site.

Hi,

I think if people don't like flash, it is because Flash is often abused for useless intros that nobody really wants to see. I recently heard someone saying "the 'skip' button is the link with the most hits on the Internet".

I think Flash is a very good choice if you need interaction, animation and/or sound. For example to create online-courses that do need to show something animated with voice-over and maybe a little learning-game. In this case Flash would be the best choice because there is no need to download special plug-ins (the flash plugin is built in to all modern browser versions).

So my opinion is: I like Flash very much, but I don't like bad content created in Flash, just because it looks "cool". As many other web surfers I normally want to get content not "coolness".

Flash for "cool" pages may be okay, for example if you have a cartoon page like joecartoon. But in this case you expcet to have higher download times to see the movies.

Marian

Originally posted by ReneC
A good flash website: www.lookandfeel.com
I like what they do with the menus, the sounds, music, those two little guys running around, really cool.

Oh, yeah. This is the best presentation-style site I've seen yet. A very original implementation of Flash.

Originally posted by heddesheimer

I think Flash is a very good choice if you need interaction, animation and/or sound.


What about using flash as an alternative to animated GIF and JavaScript?

I mean using it for small effects rather than as a whole movie so the download time would not be apprecibly more than it otherwise wold have?

Originally posted by sammasati


What about using flash as an alternative to animated GIF and JavaScript?

I mean using it for small effects rather than as a whole movie so the download time would not be apprecibly more than it otherwise wold have?

That's my opinion of all that I would use it for. Still you'd want to make the animated gif or java available for those that didn't have flash.

Originally posted by neofree
I am not sure if Flash works on non-Windows computers (ie: Linux/UNIX/Mac/etc.)



just fyi.

Flash works great on the mac (iexporer)
Flash works okay on linux...

I don't like flash HOWEVER if the design is good and there's an html option, then I don't see why it's a problem...

though I had to drop my "if I can't see it in lynx, then I don't like it" rule...

I have to agree wholeheartedly with heddesheimer. It seems alot of designers use flash gratuitously for no reason other than 'cause they can. Personally, I love it when used in snippets here and there throughout a site for effect.

If you're a high end web design company wanting to showcase your talents, knock yourself out. Get as elaborate as you want. But if a site that sells gardening tools has a 30 second flash intro, it's likely more to benefit the designer's ego than the visitor.

Just MHO.

Originally posted by sammasati
actually I was thingking in terms of accesablity. Is anyone concerned with accessablity or are most visitors to sites using Flash compatable browsers?
I think the issue in this thread is more about the technical aspect of using flash, rather than a discussion about execution (which we could all go on and on about, or at least I could, for pages and pages). :D

Originally posted by Chicken

I think the issue in this thread is more about the technical aspect of using flash, rather than a discussion about execution (which we could all go on and on about, or at least I could, for pages and pages). :D

Exactly Chicken.

In terms of potential customers that are looking for hosting. Do most tend to use browsers that are Flash enabled, thereby opening up this technology, or are hosting customers still using 3.0 browsers?

Are those that use flash to augment their site concerned about a possible loss in viewership?