FLASH: Browser types

[dave.trautman]

Les Mizzell" <

mizzellemail [dot] msn [dot] com

> wrote:

>My main client has one office with over 200 PCs, all running I.E. 3.0 with

>Java disabled!! They **REFUSE** to change any configurations because "it

>took us forever to get this system stable and we're NOT changing anything."


Man, I'm with you on that score.  I can't tell you how many times I've 

come

up against this attitude.  I spent plenty of time dealing with sys admins 

in a

prominent Canadian University and on the whole they are clear headed and

very decent people.  But when it came to configurations for browsers and 

the

use of plug-ins they were impossible to deal with.


The policy may have changed as of this writing but this University did not

allow MSIE in labs because of a "security" problem they perceived in which

a user could remain "logged on" where in NN it would have to deal with the

password again at each launch.  Because of this silly and easily remedied

deficiency (which I believe was dealt with in subsequent IE releases) a 

whole

range of possible teaching enhancements, not to leave out ActiveX, were 

kept

at bay.


Using FLASH for one development project was deemed too "experimental" at

one point and the "market penetration" of the plug-in was questioned.  

Even

when MM announced the partnership with MSIE and NN for the next

release of their browsers the powers-that-be would not be swayed.


Despite this, and in light of leaving said institution, I am more 

convinced of

the significance of FLASH as a superior web delivery solution than ever.  

I

think the points made earlier about just forging ahead and leaving 

doubters

in the dust of our departure are extremely valid in light of where the web

has been and where it is going.  Intervals between versions of browsers 

may

not be getting longer, but the size of the update is making people hold 

back on

upgrading.  A leaner NN is in the offing and Opera is making inroads.  But

FLASH is so darn efficient and so capable right out of the box that it 

won't be

long before it's totally integrated into the Multimedia workshop for web

delivery of extremely satisfying content and interactions.  As we soldier 

on in

the name of innovation and progress we must always serve our paying lords.

I don't believe this means we can't demonstrate some insight into the way

things will be in the near future.


I've seen jaws drop for two reasons whenever I demo FLASH.  One is the 

speed and the smooth frame rate and the jaws nearly hit the floor when I

tell then just how big the files are.  I can't think of another web 

delivery

solution which has this capability.  But then I can't understand why many

server admin people are reluctant to do just a little MIME tweak and why

lab managers refuse to accept a few adjustments to the browsers.  It's 

also

funny they didn't blink when asked to install QT3.


I can only think of the fragility of operating systems and the locked in 

nature

of Windows in particular when it comes to the "don't touch" mentality.  It

seems when a facility acquires PC systems in bulk they end up freezing the

configuration beyond its usefulness because of all the overhead they have 

to

spend in keeping them up and running.  The mentality which forms is

"don't touch" and it will stay working.  I've never seen UNIX people 

operate

this way.  Perhaps it's a bird in a guilded cage with the door open wide.


Bill by the hour and include a nuisance fee.  That's my motto.


Dave Trautman

EncycloMEDIA Ltd.



"The opposite of love, I have found, is not hate, but indifference."

‹ Elie Weisel



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