As trends go through their natural cycle, the general public’s definition of ‘attractive’ websites alters. There’s no doubt that websites built in flash can be breath-taking. Wonderwall, AgencyNet 2.0 and Waterlife are a sweet reminder of the creativity and innovation that designers and multimedia developers are capable of.

However, while Adobe Flash provides what many ambiguously call the ‘wow factor’, it inevitably comes accompanied with unwanted baggage. The following are the main reasons why your website should not be built with Adobe Flash:

1. Lack of content management
   Websites nowadays are almost all CMS-driven. This means that the client or administrator can manage and maintain the content of the website instantly and without any technical knowledge. With the spread of Content Management Systems like WordPress and Drupal (both free and open-source), a website will never be considered of real value if its not constantly updated with fresh content (see my post on what makes a good website). With Flash, it’s almost impossible to have a proper CMS and therefore leaves you relying on a Flash developer to make any changes, and that within itself, is a tedious, time-consuming process. We’re at an age where sharing information has become as easy as tapping a button on your phone while on the road, the last thing we need is wasted (and costly) time on changes and updates
2. Search indexing and SEO
   There’s no real way for Google search to completely grasp the content of a Flash file. There are methods to give a general definition to the content, and therefore show up in some results, but for the most part, a Flash website’s left in the dark. Imagine putting so much effort in adding fresh, valuable content to your website as a social media tool to attract users, only for search engines to remain oblivious to it and therefore not bring you the interested crowd
3. Loading time and performance issues
   The main attraction in Flash is the reason behind its poor performance. Very rarely will you come across a website built in Flash that does not require significant time to load. And if it doesn’t, then it’s usually a lame, boring website that couldn’t been perfectly implemented with HTML and CSS instead. It is challenging to tolerate many seconds, and sometimes minutes, for a website to load
4. Lack of support across the different platforms
   When the iPhone first came out, users were too distracted with the eye candy to realize the lack of support for Flash. Now, with the overwhelming spread of the iPad, the inability to view flash websites in a number of devices has become a major issue of concern. In an open letter written in May, CEO Steve Jobs wanted to prove to the few doubters that Apple’s sole interest is to close all of their products, make them proprietary, and enforce its own way. The announcement also served as an indication that we might never see Flash playing on any of Apple’s gadgets again. If your website is not showing up on iPhones, iPods and iPads, then you’re losing grip on your audience
5. Instability of Flash player
   Flash player has been known to crash across the different browsers. Firstly, there was the famous bug that caused issues with Flash player 10 on Firefox that many blamed the open-source browser for, but later, many using Internet Explorer and Windows 7 shared similar complaints. The fact that this happened after Flash has been around for years is worrying for the future

Moreover, the arrival of HTML5 and CSS3 (along with the usual jQuery plugins) facilitates the switch
It’s far from an identical replacement, but the combination of HTML5 and CSS3 is extremely promising. Amongst other features, together they provide simple ways of embedding video and audio into websites. You also get full control of the appearance and can make all sorts of movements, transitions and animations. In fact, there is an entire cartoon built using only HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery called the CSS3 Man. Here’s a presentation of how HTML5 and CSS3 will shape on the new Firefox:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmuNApHFec

Therefore, save yourself the hassle, be reachable, be light-wight and fast, appear correctly on all platforms, and avoid technical issues. It’s best to leave Flash behind and embrace the full potential of the alternatives while it’s a choice, before you’re forced to do so.

An informative video by Gadget Video Reviews that compares Google’s new phone (manufactured by HTC) with the iPhone. Straight, to-the-point, and fills you in with what you’re really after.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6UL9uUxwEU

Although you’ll never be able to fully judge until you get your hands on one of Google’s new boys, it is useful to have a broad idea. The one aspect that I am particularly concerned about is the touch screen of the Nexus One. If it cannot match the intuitive scrolling of its Californian counterpart, then Google might have a bit of work to do before it can grab a market share of any significance.

SoldierKnowsBest put together a casual video talking about the 10 breakthroughs to remember from 2009. It is obviously quite bias towards Apple as well as the main-stream companies, so it is best to view it as a recap of the products that made the biggest buzz in the consumer technology market in the last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88vLHNFyiqE

Looking forward to the video showcasing the best open-source projects of 2009. Anyone?

You can watch the Apple website’s videos showcasing all of the new features that are enclosed in the latest release of Apple’s media player. But who needs boring, repetitive and commercial  demonstrations when you can get this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjiz_0koHC4

Credit to the presenter for revealing what is interesting to us, the regular users, in the most basic, straight-forward approach. Pay particular attention to the Home Sharing feature, which is arguably the most important addition to the new iTunes.

Just when you thought that Steve Jobs and Co were doing everything possible to get the last penny from its loyal consumers’ pockets, Apple have proudly introduced the release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), available for pre-ordering. Not only have they brought new features and fixed a load of bugs, but they are also offering their latest operating system at a generous $29 for users upgrading from Mac OS X 10.5. Last year, users upgrading to the then new and unprecedented Leopard had to make a hefty investment. This time around, Apple are being compassionate with the poor and offering the upgrade, which is in theory only 0.02 increase in terms of version number, at under 30 bucks.

Apple patches up its OS, and charges for it

Before we go further, let’s examine the new features that are brought to the table by the California giants. A visual presentation of the main features can be found at Apple’s website here. While a complete list of the “refinements” are also available via their website. If you don’t have the time or are not willing to put the effort, the following are the key players in the move for the snow version of the same animal:

1. Exchange Support: With the new Mac OS, you can synchronize your calendar, contacts and email with a Microsoft Exchange server, which is widely used amongst companies of all sizes and industries
2. Improved Security: Better protection against malware and threats
3. Exposé & Dock Integration: IT is now easier to access open documents, combine open windows to space horizontal space
4. A Better Finder: Restore files to original location directly from trash (available in Windows for a over a decade, but still considered a revolution when it’s done in Apple’s name). Also displays which applications are using an inserted drive, preventing it from being ejected
5. New Quictime player: For some reason accredited to the new OS, even though anyone using any OS and download and use it
6. Minor Enhancements: Fewer Safari crashes, built-in screen capture with video, A proper Wifi utility, and more

The following video show a quick demonstration of the “new” Dock Expose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93v-xwUlL5s

The inevitable question that results from Apple’s new release is: How on Earth is this considered a commercial upgrade and not a set of basic updates? After all, these are nothing more than the type of tasks you would find on any technicians ToDo list. There is nothing out of the ordinary, and could in fact be considered fixes that are over-due.

This is where the intelligence of the consumer is questioned. Many Apple fanatics are overlooking the fact that they are forced to pay for a group of enhancements and improvements, and are in fact impressed that they are only charged a relatively-small fee. The problem with brands like Apple is that they are associated with many social aspects that couldn’t be further from the technology world. As a result, instead of driving computer-makers to come up with products that would fit our needs, we anxiously wait to see what are the products that will be introduced to the market, and consequently find out what we need to buy. I personally find it shocking that there are not enough people who find the payment for some fixes absurd, and it was even worse last time around when the fee was significantly larger.

Apple, just like any other company in the technology realm, makes imperfect products, and therefore is constantly working to address issues and fix them. However, Apple is the only company that will charge you to patch up security flaws, grant features that have been around since the Cold War, and make improvements that are nothing more than a natural step in the cycle of any product. We cannot expect corporations to serve us in the best way possible from the start, but with the current trends in ostentatious products and name brands such as Apple’s Macs, some companies do not even need to worry too much about the user’s need; they just need to focus on dictating it so that people know what to buy.

A hilarious video by The Onion taking a humorous approach to Apple’s philosophy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA

While the report is completely fictitious, there are a number of valid points made (through exaggerating):

• Apple are always desperate to be “innovative” in anyway, to the point of over-looking what the consumer is actually looking for
• In  many cases, the company looks to sell features as “must-haves”, and people learn to like it
• They make “revolutionary” announcements (like that of the iPhone), when the release is always months and months later
• The most important part of owning a Mac or an Apple product, is to proudly show it to everyone
• They are outrageously over-priced. Very few people can argue that what you pay for Apple products is completely nonsensical

Therefore, even though the video’s there to make you laugh, I think the Onion News Network makes valid arguments that is important for us, the consumers, to discuss and be aware of.