This looks like a pretty interesting alternative method to get Flash on the iPhone and iPad. From what I have read it sounds like it’s slower that regular Flash especially when it comes to interactive stuff like games. At this point it’s probably good for ads.
Smokescreen seems to take an SWF and convert into an SVG file and ad some javascript, so the end results are compatible with iPhone and and iPad.
Thanks to Karaminder for pointing me to this.
Here’s a great article with some very interesting things to say about JQuery’s document ready method.
http://www.subprint.com/blog/demystifying-the-dom-ready-event-method/
SWFObject, if you haven’t heard of it already is a really great little javascript that simplifies the process of embedding your swf files in an html page. This is a huge improvement over the default systems provided Publishing from Flash or Dreamweaver.
The method provided by the Publish settings in Flash and Insert > Media > Flash in Dreamweaver work just fine, but they leave you with a huge Javascript mess in your HTML page. SWFObject provides a clean and organized system that works well and provides a few extra perks.
You can download SWFObject here: http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/
SWFObject is contained in a single small Javascript file. I have been using the latest version (at the time I wrote this it was 2.2) and it seems to work well.
You can write the code for yourself following the documentation on the site listed above. Or use the code generator here: http://www.bobbyvandersluis.com/swfobject/generator/index.html
I had some trouble getting Flash to display 100% width and height. But this was sorted after a short Google search. Turns out the following styles are required:
html, body {
background-color: #616264;
margin:0;
height:100%;
overflow: hidden;
}
#flashcontent {
height:100%;
}
Note, without overflow:hidden you end up seeing the scroll bars and the page scrolls about 5px. This was very confusing, you would figure that 100% height would make everything the size of the browser rather than a little larger?
I was thinking about Javascript and wondered if anyone had made a Javascript Audio player? Turns out there is a very impressive one that uses many of the features slated for HTML5. To tell the truth I was prepared to be underwhelmed when I started searching. I was actually very impressed with this player. The audio samples were less than impressive.
Here’s a post about the pros and cons of each. The comments below are interesting.
http://logicpool.com/archives/30
Many of the discussions I’ve read on this subject always bring up requirement that the Plugin must be installed for Flash to work. I always think, does anyone not have the Flash plugin these days? It seems like it comes with every browser, anyone that wants to watch a video on Youtube is required to upgrade to the latest version of Flash. Who isn’t watching youtube?
I’m sure someone doesn’t have the plugin, or doesn’t have the latest version. Hmmm… they may be hard to find.
Adobe suggests about 80% to 99% market penetration. Of course their numbers may be a little rosy, they have a stake in the issue.
http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/version_penetration.html
Wikipedia suggests about 95% Did Adobe write that article?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash
Here’s a link to an article that makes a strong argument for Javascript over Flash. Though, their example site, The Official Ringo Star web site is so weak it counters their argument. The motion is terrible and the rollovers made with Javascript are nothing worth even mentioning.
Of course then it’s off the TheFWA to see what they have on display these days. Looks like every site on display used Flash. After looking at all of these sites it reminded me of the point made in the articles above that, Flash is for complex and 3d animation. I don’t think that quite covers it. I’m seeing sites that are drawing things and mixing video and images with motion in ways that aren’t quite done justice by “3d” or even “complex animation”. Of course all of these sites could be described as complex animation.
Of course for the majority of sites Flash is usually overkill. The difficulty of mixing Flash with a server side framework or CMS is a big downer. So making modern everyday use web sites is also firmly in the Flash camp.
Another con, usually attribute to Flash is the steep learning curve. I’m not 100% behind this argument. It seems to me that HTML and CSS is a pretty hard, mix that with Javascript and I think reaches the same difficulty as Flash and Actioscript. Of course maybe the people writing the articles are think that they already know HTML, CSS and Javascript so it must be easier than learning Flash?
I think for myself I would have to say, when it comes to experimental and cutting edge Flash is out in front. That said I’ve seen some really cool Javascript sites. Here’s a list of good ones (sorry Ringo your site didn’t make this list).
http://www.3point7designs.com/blog/2008/04/12-websites-that-slide-and-scroll-with-javascript/
The real idea is to make the right decision Flash or Javascript. Knowing when to choose one or the other is the real skill.
I don’t think I’ll be dumping Flash any time soon, but I will have to brush up on Javascript skills, especially with all of those new CSS3 HTML5 goodies.
This is a great tool for embedding swf’s into your HTML pages. This is an alternative to the markup provided by Adobe via Flash or Dreamweaver. It also circumvents the need to “Activate Flash” on Windows.
I prefer this over the default scripts which often cause problems with the HTML code on the page.
It provides a few extra features also. Like ability to get variables from the URL string for the current page. It can also check the Flash version and provide a link to get the current version of Flash.
Testing the Kimili Flash plugin for WordPress. It seems to be working pretty well so far.
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://webdevils.com/examples/Make3d/3D_03.swf” height=”300″ width=”300″ /]
Interesting to note that the plugin is supposed to work with Flash anywhere it appears. So you can use KimiliFlash to put Flash into your header or other areas of your site.
Another interesting item is that the Kimili plugin uses SWFObject: Javascript Flash Player detection and embed script which is XHTML valid. The default Flash HTML code written by Flash and Dreamweaver will not validate.
There is an article about this on A List Apart.