Let the Truth Be Told: HTML5 vs. Flash

After reading all 4 articles, my blog presents my responses to the class assignment, along with thoughts of what's going on that is even bigger than the question of what is the better technology, HTML5 or Flash

The meat of the controversy is whether HTML5 is a [better] technology than Flash to present beautiful, dynamic, content rich web sites. HTML is the current standard text-based code that your web browser reads from web servers to present a web page in a certain way. HTML5 is the next-generation standardized version that has the ability to provide a graphically appealing look and dynamic functionality that runs straight from the code within the native HTML page, and is executed by the browser and therefore accessible by any computing device. It has the potential for a "one size fits all" technology and it is not "owned" by any one company. This makes it an "open" system, which is what most companies claim they want to support. Flash is a proprietary Adobe owned technology, a third party developer per se, and is not a standard. It lives within a quarantined area in the browser. The browser can communicate with Flash via JavaScript, but only as the Flash file specifically allows it through a separate plug in. Today it is often the premier software choice used by designers to create beautiful and dynamic sites.

As a designer, you'd think I would instantly support Flash with it's media rich capability to create beautiful and elegant web pages. I've also had enough experience in designing and production to know the importance of standardized operating systems and applications and how much easier it can make your world, and that it can provide a more reliable, fast, and consistent experience for your user...which should be a primary goal as a web designer.

First I'd have to say there needs to be agreement upon what is truly an "open system", if this is the goal, and what is the more appropriate technology to move forward based on that: HTML5 or Flash. If consensus can be achieved about what is an "open system" and that this is what we want to have as a standard, it should be much easier to determine which is a better technology. I also think a lot of the controversy is around whether [browsers on] mobile devices are now driving the standards as opposed to browsers on desktop computers. This also needs to be determined.  Or perhaps at some point the desktop world will split from the mobile computing world...you never know.

As an individual who has worked in a large corporate environment for many years and have worked closely with developers as a designer, I've seen the detriment and difficulty third party apps can cause when it comes to ensuring ongoing compatibility, ongoing technical support, upgrades to the systems, and usually ends up costing more in the long run. It is a route that is simply more difficult to create and maintain for the long haul because third party apps are not standard to the core OS.

As far as my personal thoughts, step back and also look at the REALLY big picture here. The main reason any "for profit" company is in business is to provide a product or service that is in demand, and to be profitable, preferable very profittable. Steve Jobs/Apple and Adobe are no different, and there is significant "he said, she said" going on, which makes it difficult to know who is really telling the truth. They are both after competing market share and being number one in the industry. They both would be wise to listen to the developers and consumers wants and needs, after all, without people buying your product or service, your company will eventually cease to exist. Apple and Adobe can cite all they want about their reasons for certain decisions; it comes down to each one wants to be on top and controlling. Yet as both are major players, that probably isn't going to happen anytime soon, so there does need to be a way for them to continue to work together for the greater consumer good if they are going to go after the same market. I do feel Jobs arguments were very strong, assuming they were truthful, in favor of his reasons for not supporting Flash development tools. Mobile devices do seem to be driving a large share of technology development these days, versus desktop computing. So if both companies want to continue to provide products for both computing environments, they'll need to find a way to play together, at least for the short term. It's probably a good thing that Jobs relaxed on his decision to restrict programming tools developers can use to create iOS apps. This will allow Adobe to be back in the game, for now. Check out the following link for some interesting tests on HTML5 and Flash incompatibilities and compatibilities, that may support your view one way or another:
http://gizmodo.com/5490205/html5-vs-flash-the-video-benchmark-deathmatch

Let's not forget, what's hot in technology and devices today, will be old news 6-12 months from now if not sooner. As part of a generation who is very computer savvy now, yet lived through Apple's rise from it's inception to the top, the one thing I've learned is how quickly technology changes, how flexible we all must continue to be in the tools we adopt and use, and to be open and prepared for continual change. I believe the markets' demands will eventually make the decisions for both companies....there will probably be growing pains for everyone in the path to get there.

Marketing my New Career

I've been a graphic designer for 20 years, and have had a very successful career. However, I've also discovered a new passion in the last 5 years....Horticulture. My perfect career is to take my skills and creativity as a designer and combine them with my new found skills in horticulture. At the end of this year, I'll have my AA degree in horticulture and my long-term goal is to eventually have my own small business as a grower of niche plants, and to promote myself and my business through the web. So obviously I need and want to learn how to build a very functional, yet also attractive web site. This class will also greatly benefit my current career as a graphic designer by adding new and necessary skills that will make me more valuable to my current employer and to ensure I remain marketable in the field. I see myself always using my graphic design skills in one form or another. I'm excited to learn more coding and how to create style sheets (I've dabbled enough to be dangerous). My main goal I'd like to walk away with from this class with is to have a clear understanding of how all the components we talk about work together, and to of course be able to build my own web site. As far as inspirational sites that I feel are designed well, apple.com is very nice. It's clean and has great imagery. cnn.com is another site that I like. They recently did a redesign earlier this year and I go there for all my news information. It does a great job at presenting a ton of information in a way that you can find what you want easily; and it downloads fast. This is really important from my perspective; users won't waste a lot of time waiting for your site to load. Larsen.com is a great site for design. I get a lot of mailings from them and I admire there work. They're very experienced on identity and branding and also have a very clean style. They also share commentary about their work for particular clients. I'm really looking forward to what I will learn this semester.