I’m currently in the process of preparing a document that describes FLEX’s shortcomings. Below is my current list, please challenge the list or submit shortcomings in the comment section.
SEO - All things being equal, a fully Flash based site will never outrank a HTML/AJAX based site in the SERPs. The only way to guarantee your Flash site is being indexed by the search engines is to build an html equivalent site, implement a Flash SEO plugin/hack, and then build a FLEX/HTML hybrid site which uses HTML for the navigation bar.
Performance - Flash is essentially a browser within a browser where an HTML/AJAX solution is not. This makes flash require greater system resources.
Usability - The issues continue to stack up, flash usability issues begin with the back button, move on to the loading sequence and the list keeps going. You’ll end up spending the majority of your development time fixing Flash’s usability issues.
Mobile - A Flex/Flash site won’t work on iPhone.
Macs - Adobe has never put enough effort into making Flex/Flash work well on Macs. Scroll bars for example on the Mac don’t work naturally by moving in sync with the mouse wheel.
Community - The online development community surrounding HTML/AJAX is one of the largest which provides a wealth of resources including free code libraries like YUI or jQuery. Additionally, there are far more HTML/AJAX resources in the market which make maintaining existing code and hiring new talent more cost effective.
The Future of Adobe’s FLASH & FLEX: Companies like Google & Apple are betting against Adobe’s Flash technology and moving in the direction of HTML 5. Why spend precious development time mastering a dying language? Why bet against Google?
What else am I missing? Do you agree or disagree with the points above?
Earlier today I had the opportunity to meet with a great group people and discuss the top 20 coolest things to happen the Web 2.0 sector in the last 3 weeks. Considering how others could benefit from the list, I’ve pasted it below. Enjoy!
Apple’s New Store Design: The Cube is the Store - When looking through the wall of windows on one side, you can see straight through to the other side of the store and out another wall of windows. If that wasn’t enough to give you a feeling of space, the Scottsdale store also has a 75-foot long skylight.
PatientsLikeMe - A site that provides people with serious conditions a chance to report on the efficacy of their treatment, their unique symptoms, and (if they wish) to connect with the researchers in the drug companies who made the treatments. It’s a new closure for the feedback loop of medical research.
Microsoft Bing:
- The New Decision Engine From Microsoft
- Bing will help you make smarter, faster decisions
- Cashback
- Bing Posts Second Week Of Gains
Google Wave
- What Might Email Look Like If It Were Invented Today?
- “We need to challenge our assumptions and re-imagine the tools we take for granted.” - Tim O’Reilly
- “In answering the question, the team re-imagined email and instant-messaging in a connected world, a world in which messages no longer need to be sent from one place to another, but could become a conversation in the cloud.”
Mobile
- Palm Pre: Palm is also somewhat psyched on its Touchstone, a inductive charger that lets you just place the phone atop it for power (it even snaps into place thanks to a few well-placed magnets).
- iPhone 3Gs:
- iPhone 3.0 OS: Apple has created an API that allows developers to connect to external hardware via not just stereo bluetooth (a feature not fully implemented until 3.0), but through the Dock connector as well. The newly added ability to use external hardware in concert with the iPhone’s software is going to open many doors for the phone.
Project Natal
- Controller-Free Gaming & Entertainment
- No Strings (or Controllers) Attached
- Full-body motion capture for XBox 360, as game controller.
- Video
Windows 7
- 44 percent of people (IT professionals) said they were “very satisfied” with the beta vs Vista could only find 10 percent of people who were satisfied
- Windows Touch: Gestures powered by Surface - You can move backwards and forwards through the page history just by swiping the screen. Pinch zooming is fast too.
Chartbeat
- Sexy Web Analytics
- Realtime Count of Users & what they are doing on/off the network
- Google Analytics = Trends & Historical Data
- Chartbeat = How many people are on your site and what they’re doing
Google Squared - G^2
- Google Squared is a search tool that helps you quickly build a collection of facts from the Web for any topic
- Facts about your topic are organized as a table of items and attributes
- Customize these Squares to see just the items and attributes you’re interested in.
- Example: roller coasters
Hulu
- Subscription Business Model
- Hulu Desktop App - Cancel your cable - watch TV online
tinychat
- The Disposable Chat Room
- Makes Disposable Chat Rooms A Breeze
- Chatrooms for the Twitter Generation
It’s the little things that count, a famous quote which rings true for user experience design.
Take a close look at a Google and Yahoo!’s search page and notice where your cursor is positioned after the page finishes loading. Keep refreshing until you notice how the search pages treat the cursor differently than other site’s. What you want to notice is how after the page finishes loading, the cursor’s position defaults to the search box, also known as an input box. What this does is keep the user on their site and off their browser’s address bar. Google and Yahoo! move your cursor away from the address bar so that all subsequent searches are through their portal. This cursor positioning experience all takes place via one tiny line of JavaScript (document.f.q.focus();) and results in a huge sums of additional revenue for Google and Yahoo!, as well as a better user experience since the user isn’t required to move their mouse and click inside the only input box on the page.
What I find fascinating is the number of large web properties that still haven’t implemented the JavaScript code required to default the cursor’s position on load to the search box. Amazon, IMDb, and even Comcast.net haven’t implemented the cursor position focus on load experience while others like Microsoft Live Search have.
Almost every web site could benefit by this proven experience! For more Search Engine News, Amazon News, Comcast News, or Microsoft News be sure to visit nobosh.
Be sure to comment below with your thoughts, opinions and questions.
UPDATE
For those of you using Google’s Custom Search Engine along with JQUERY, here is a handy code snippet that should work without modification which I use on nobosh Trends:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#q').focus();
});
</script>
Does the image below look familiar? If you watch videos on Hulu has much as I do this image probably looks familiar - which is the image you see after you finish watching a video on Hulu.
What I find interesting is how Hulu displays a link to “Buy this episode today” right after you finish watching the entire episode. Now help me understand this up-sell tactic. After a user watches a video, which was free to begin with, they are expected to be interested in purchasing the episode? I find this highly unlikely however, if there is market research that shows this is true please send that data my way.
As for suggestions for Hulu (to keep this productive), I recommend changing the “Buy this episode today” link to either a large, prominent link to Share the video on Facebook which I think add a lot more value to Hulu. Other ideas would be to offer links to buy previous seasons, not episodes, or even remove the link all together and have a countdown to auto-play the next video without requiring the user to click continue which is what Yahoo! offers in its standard video player.
Be sure to comment below with your thoughts. For more Hulu news or Yahoo! news stories be visit nobosh today!
I found this story “Senator: Cap pay at $400K for Wall Street ‘idiots’” on CNNMoney through nobosh and thought it worthy for a post on ForFrakSake.
This week had more news of Wall Street taking advantage of the tax payer while the government continues to send Wall Street bundles of undeserved money. The main stories of the week regarding the ‘idiots on Wall Street:’
In the latest Sue Decker news, her departure memo to the Yahoo! troops.
From: Sue Decker
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 2:32 PM
To: all-worldwide@yahoo-inc.com
Subject: The next chapter
Yahoos
After almost nine incredibly rewarding years with this terrific company, I have decided that it is time for me to pursue my next chapter, just as Yahoo! is charting the next phase of its path-breaking journey.
I have not made this decision lightly. I have been with this company for nearly a decade, and together we have been through a period of amazing change during this time. In particular, I want to thank the Board and especially Jerry, who has been my partner and friend from the very beginning, for affording me the opportunity to contribute to Yahoo!’s success.
The Yahoo! of today is a radically different company than the one I joined in 2000, as befits a major franchise in one of the world’s fastest-evolving industries. Financially, the company has grown its revenue base from a little over $1 billion in 2000 to more than $7 billion, and has more than quadrupled its operating cash flow from around $400 million to close to $2 billion. Over that period, working together, we have reshaped one of the world’s most vital Internet brands and transformed the company in ways the outside world is only just beginning to see. We did this by anticipating customer needs and evolving our business model ahead of dynamic changes to the online marketplace. While it is true that competition has never been fiercer, it is equally true that Yahoo! has moved decisively and creatively forward.
I am especially proud of some of the innovative open and customizable products and platforms we have developed in the last 18 months, including:
The APT display platform, which has the potential to transform the way display advertising is bought and sold
BOSS (Build your own search service), which lets others use our search technology through open API’s
The host of mobile and device platforms and services which are fundamentally changing the way consumers experience the internet on devices beyond the PC.
Our new Home Page, which will launch early in 2009, and will be open to 3rd party content and help Yahoo! lean into its greatest strength: understanding consumers.
We also faced the difficult decision of reducing costs in a way that has allowed us to hit our profitability objectives, notwithstanding the tough economy. Not too many companies can say that. The result of all of this hard work is a company which has positioned itself to weather a challenging economic cycle and come out the other side stronger than before.
But the real testament to the success this company has achieved is you. You are the best in the business–tremendously talented, highly skilled and incredibly dedicated to making Yahoo! stronger for our users and advertisers. Even through a turbulent 2008 and in the face of unrelenting distractions, you held your heads high and stayed focused, releasing some amazing new products for users and experiences for advertisers that demonstrate your tremendous insight, energy and passion. It has been my great pleasure working with all of you, and I have every confidence that going forward you will continue to drive Yahoo! ahead and to prosper.
As I turn my attention to helping transition in the most successful way possible, I want to congratulate Carol on her new role and put my full support behind her. I would ask that you all do the same. She and I serve together on the Intel board, so I have had the pleasure of seeing her in action. She is a decisive, passionate leader that I believe will serve Yahoo! well as it embarks on the next phase of its evolution.
I am extremely grateful for the time I have had at Yahoo! This has been a profoundly enriching experience for me, both personally and professionally. As I set off on for my next mission, I want to extend my sincerest wishes to all of you for continued success.
Sue
Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes leave until end of June.
Steve Jobs says health issues “more complex than I originally thought.”
For more on the story view nobosh’s Apple news feed and Steve Jobs news feed.
Updated Story Links
Steve Jobs’s Letter to Apple Employees
Team,
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.
Steve
Over the weekend, I purchased Apple’s new in-ear headphones. I’ve always been a fan of the way in-ear headphone fit my ear and have been wishing for Apple to realize such a product. Several unsuccessful visits to the Apple Store to purchase the new headphones went unsuccessful as the headphones were always sold-out. Then, finally this weekend, the Apple Store in Chandler had several units in stock so I made my purchase.
Within minutes I was surprised to learn that the volume controls on the headphones are not compatible with the iPhone. Apple releasing a new product that isn’t compatible with their flagship iPhone product continues to puzzle me. I have to believe that Apple is planning to support the in-ear headphones in the next iPhone software update, I’ll be reading Apple news waiting for that day. Of course, Apple has not committed to supporting the headphones’ volume controls in the iPhone. Caveat emptor!
Today, I finally learned more details about the undercover start-up Yoostar. Yoostar was introduced to the public at CES today by Gary Shapiro who is the President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association.
Yoostar allows consumers to star in their favorite movie or television scenes after buying their kit a $150.
Directly from the Yoostar press release: “The Yoostar™ system ($149.95 suggested retail price) includes all the tools to turn a home or office into a movie studio: a sophisticated camera with built-in microphone, green screen, remote control and Yoostar software that runs on both PCs and Macs. The Yoostar system comes with an initial assortment of clips, with hundreds of other film scenes and television moments available for purchase and download at www.yoostar.com. Each month, users will have access to new clips from the vast libraries of the studios, which include films such as “The Godfather,” “Psycho,” “The Pink Panther” and “Saw.” Yoostar’s patented Active Immersion Technology digitally removes original actors from scenes and allows users to flawlessly insert themselves into the actor’s place. Users can deliver faithful, on-script performances or their own interpretation of movie scenes while interacting with their favorite stars. The number of takes is unlimited, ensuring that the user gets exactly the performance they want before wrapping the scene.”
Yoostar seems like a really interesting product that could be succesfully past the stage of a novelty if the software works and is easy to use. I do wonder why Yoostar wasn’t packaged as an interactive product for Xbox or Playstation, which probably could have gotten the product out in the market faster.
I just had to use one of my favorite IE6 hacks for a project and thought I’d post the IE6 hack I’ve used before on past projects such as nobosh.
If you are having problems with widths in IE6 you’ll quickly learn that normal browsers like FireFox and Safari handle the CSS width property differently than IE6 does. Here the hack:
/* IE6 hack start*/
min-width:800px;
width:auto !important;
width:800px;
/* IE6 hack end*/
What I love about this hack is that IE6 does not recognize the !important CSS attribute. Now that we know IE6 doesn’t recognize the !important attribute you’ll note that IE6 will interpret the width as 800px, as it was the last style assigned. While smarter browsers like FireFox will take notice of the !important attribute and set the width to auto.
Hopefully one of these days we’ll hear Microsoft news that announces Microsoft finally decided to follow the rules and build a browser that is within standards compliance.
This is a very helpful hack - Enjoy!
