Super Volatile

Krzysztof Szafranek's link blog

Hi, I'm Krzysztof and I make websites.
When I'm not making websites, I read these.
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flash

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Jan 28, 2012 / 12:46am

The V8 Myth: Why JavaScript is not a Worthy Competitor

Dynamic analysis is a great complement to static analysis: unfortunately, it is not a replacement. An ActionScript program that has been optimized to death by an AOT compiler can, almost trivially, beat a JavaScript program that is optimized on the fly by the JIT compiler. The only way out would be to let the JIT compiler work till death, but that is not an option! Checkmate.

So yes, you will hear about all the great things in V8 (JavaScript VM), including type inference. The fact is, there is no way a JIT compiler can afford to do the kind of modular analysis that an algorithm implemented in an AOT compiler can.

more on blogs.adobe.com

Regardless how arrogant it sounds, it's true. Numbers do follow in the article.

Filed under: flash   javascript   performance  
 
Nov 20, 2011 / 1:24pm

Flash is dead. Long live the internet.

This brings us back to my younger self sitting at home in Arizona playing with Flash and Photoshop, building new things. I’ve always loved making things, and I suspect many web developers feel the same. The pleasure of making something great is what drives us, not a specific technology. So don’t be too sad about Flash evolving, or even dying. Just keep making awesome things with whatever tools you have at your disposal.
more on blog.deconcept.com

The author of SWFObject doesn't regret the death of Flash too much.

Filed under: flash  
 
Jun 5, 2011 / 4:41pm

Flash still not on the iPad, and that's still a good decision

A few days ago I was talking to a co-worker who is in the market for a computer-like device for his mom. He was deciding between an iPad and a netbook. I asked him what his mom would be using the device for. Turns out she's a fan of Facebook games (among other things). I had to warn him off the iPad (no Flash) but wondered if an Android tablet would work for her. I logged into Facebook and tried to play Farmville on my Android tablet (an Acer Iconia A500). A few minutes later I suggested that my co-worker buy his mom a netbook.
more on itworld.com

It's now clear that Flash presence on Android is a merely a box on marketing checklist, but trying to actually use it is pretty much pointless.

Filed under: flash   tablets  
 
Mar 28, 2011 / 11:09pm

Exclusive: Flashy Website Creator Wix Raises $40 Million

Israeli startup Wix, which allows users to build flash websites, has just raised $40 million in Series D funding led by Insight Venture Partners and DAG ventures, with Benchmark Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners participating in the round. This brings Wix’s total funding to $61 million.
more on techcrunch.com

That sounds insane in 2011. Yet, there's hope: the company in fact wants to move to HTML5, at least for mobile.

Filed under: flash   startups  
 
Aug 22, 2010 / 2:31pm

Mobile Flash Fail: Weak Android Player Proves Jobs Right

After spending time playing with Flash Player 10.1 on the new Droid 2, the first Android 2.2 phone to come with the player pre-installed, I’m sad to admit that Steve Jobs was right. Adobe’s offering seems like it’s too little, too late.
more on blog.laptopmag.com

Review of Flash plugin for Android. Devastating review.

Filed under: android   flash  
 
Jul 27, 2010 / 11:15pm

Apple's Flash policy is a breach of Postel's Law

And what Apple is doing violates Postel's Law which says you should be liberal in what you accept. Another reason Postel was wise. It helps keep the web from breaking.
more on scripting.com

All that sounds nice, but I changed my mind about the issue after hearing the argument from Jobs that convinced me: supporting Flash is a significant effort. Apple decided that it wants to put its limited resources on technology that looks more promising – and that's HTML5. They have done before with floppy drives on iMacs and other technologies considered to be “standards” at the time are now totally forgotten.

Also, applying internet ”laws” to something as closed and self-contained as Flash doesn't really buy me.

Filed under: apple   flash  
 
Jul 5, 2010 / 11:30pm

Flash 10.1 ported to iPad, burninates the countryside (video)

Take it with a grain of salt, but it's looking like some prayers have been answered on this Fourth of July -- Flash (or is that "Frash"?) is running on this man's iPad, cleverly ported from Android.
more on engadget.com

Interesting proof of concept, but don't expect to see it in the App Store.

Filed under: ipad   flash  
 
Jul 3, 2010 / 12:29am

Flash and the HTML5 tag

HD video begs to be watched in full screen, but that has not historically been possible with pure HTML
more on apiblog.youtube.com

YouTube's stance on Flash vs HTML5 <video>. No surprise there: Flash is still the only viable option now. But the article itself is worth reading as it provides pragmatic rationale why web standards are not there yet.

Filed under: flash   html5   video   youtube  
 
May 17, 2010 / 10:57pm

Opera joins in Jobs v Flash argument | News | TechRadar UK

"We are trying to give the best internet experience for our users therefore we need Flash - there is no way to beat around that bush."

"But at Opera we say that the future of the web is open web standards and Flash is not an open web standards technology."

more on techradar.com

Opera decided to make a mark in the Jobs vs. Flash debate by issuing a statement that would make Captain Obvious proud.

Filed under: captain obvious   flash   opera  
 
May 16, 2010 / 10:10pm

Scribd CTO: “We Are Scrapping Flash And Betting The Company On HTML5″

Scribd co-founder and chief technology officer Jared Friedman tells me: “We are scrapping three years of Flash development and betting the company on HTML5 because we believe HTML5 is a dramatically better reading experience than Flash. Now any document can become a Web page.
more on techcrunch.com

Just don't get overexcited. The conversion from PDF was automated, so don't expect semantic markup.

Filed under: flash   webstandards