Rotating image/template

[JSR]

:) it's 21 century. all you need to do is install flash player (for free)

I'm surprised to read this from a web designer.

You're right, it *is* the 21st century. Unlike in the last century, people aren't tied to using a Windows computer just to browse the internet anymore. Here in the 21st century, people browse the internet on all manner of devices - many of which are not supported by Adobe.

Can I install flash player on my iPod Touch? No. What about on my Android 2.1 phone? No. What about my friend's iPad? No. Or her iPhone? No. Can I install Flash player to the browser on my Kindle? No. What about all the Android 1.6 tablets that came out for Christmas? No. All of these things, and more, we browse the internet on - none of them can view Flash animations.

Using a proprietary plug-in is the thinking of the Dark Ages of the internet, it's certainly not "21st century". Apparently there were around 10 million iPads sold last year, so that's 10 million people who can't view your Flash websites, and no amount of saying "install the free Flash player" is going to change that.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't use Flash, I'm just highlighting the significance of how restrictive it is.

[JSR]

I will say is that when I create a custom mug for someone (via the internet) I create a video (2 second jon when the template is done) and send them it to see how there mug will look in the 'flesh' as to say. Everyone has commented on it and say it's a fantastic and novel way that has brought me more business down the line.

I can certainly see the advantage of sending a customer an animation of their mug as I often do this now with still pictures. You would need a template for each kind of mug you sell, though I suspect it's not a big hassle to do templates of mugs with fluted lips, stepped bases, angle handles, ornate steins, etc.

Some time ago, I experimented with Xara 3D to do a similar kind of thing, but it always looked computer generated. Putting the customer's image on a computer generated mug doesn't take into account the colour change of sublimation. Sending a picture/video to the customer and saying "your mug will look like this" only to find that the end product doesn't look like that because the printer/inks can't accomodate all the colours, or it prints darker, or you lose some detail on the small text, etc, could be more problematic than advantageous.

You're right to be cautious to go for a test image first. I admit that I'm being a bit of a pragmatist here, but that doesn't alter the fact that I'll be very interested in the results you get.

[Paul]

great price kris!!! ;)
looks like i over payed :(
http://frames4photoshop.info/shop/kubek.swf

[kris_hm]

JSR try Skyfire 2.0 (or later). there's so many aps to browse flash on ipods, ipads, androids and other gadgets.
yes, I understand your really wise points, but should your website suffer because people who can't manage christmas present?? :) sometimes is worth to trust experts and I don't think about myself (as I'm not) but millions of professionals who use flash, including: yahoo, youtube, facebook - who doesn't want them on a personal gadget !

Paul, if you don't mind asking, how much did you pay for that??

[JSR]

JSR try Skyfire 2.0 (or later). there's so many aps to browse flash on ipods, ipads, androids and other gadgets.
yes, I understand your really wise points, but should your website suffer because people who can't manage christmas present?? :) sometimes is worth to trust experts and I don't think about myself (as I'm not) but millions of professionals who use flash, including: yahoo, youtube, facebook - who doesn't want them on a personal gadget !

I would just suggest that people find out for themselves that the reason there are "apps" to play Flash is because Flash is not supported through websites.

There are apps to play YouTube and BBC iPlayer content because the devices do not support Flash through websites. This is an important distinction to make because we are discussing websites that use Flash content as a primary feature, we're not discussing apps or any other workaround to make up for the lack of Flash support on these devices.

Unless people want to create their own app to support the rotating mug Flash in addition to their website, then there's no way it's going to be seen on the 10 million iPads, or 100 million iPhones/iPod Touches out there. That's a lot of potential customers to ignore.

[kris_hm]

sorry but you're very wrong. flash is not supported by website or hardware but by internet browser (i.e. skyfire is a browser)

[bms]

sorry but you're very wrong. flash is not supported by website or hardware but by internet browser (i.e. skyfire is a browser)

Skyfire is a browser, but it decodes flash via its servers and sends it to your iphone/ ipad. This puts a decoding 'application' between the flash and your device which slows down the stream depending on how busy the middle server is. Various comments on the itunes app store aren't complimentary about paying for this app when it doesn't work properly.

That's how I read it anyway.

[AdamB]

Skyfire is a browser, but it decodes flash via its servers and sends it to your iphone/ ipad. This puts a decoding 'application' between the flash and your device which slows down the stream depending on how busy the middle server is. Various comments on the itunes app store aren't complimentary about paying for this app when it doesn't work properly.

That's how I read it anyway.

go go Martin - I didn't realise you were so 'Techy' !!

[JSR]

sorry but you're very wrong. flash is not supported by website or hardware but by internet browser (i.e. skyfire is a browser)

Flash is a plug-in for your browser. If your browser doesn't support the plug-in there is no Flash. Safari on the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch does not support the plug-in, ergo no Flash. The browser on Android <v2.2 doesn't support the plug-in, ergo no Flash. The browser on the Kindle doesn't support the plug-in, so no Flash. How many potential customers do we want to turn away?

I have Skyfire on my Android phone but it is a less than desirable experience because it relies on going through a third-party website for conversion.

You stated something earlier that I forgot to pick up on. You said:

millions of professionals who use flash, including: youtube,

However, if you check out http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...h-html5-711889, you'll read about how Google made YouTube more accessible to iPhone and Android users by using HTML5 - not Flash! because HTML5 is natively supported on these devices without the need for Adobe to provide a plug-in.

Also, according to Skyfire's website, Skyfire works by -

transcoding the Flash content into HTML5 on Skyfire’s servers.

So, even with Skyfire, you're not viewing Flash on your mobile device - it's being converted to HTML5 which is natively supported on the mobile device. So why create Flash content in the first place if it's going to have to be converted? Why not stick with HTML5 from the outset?

Flash will continue to be one of the best implementations of internet gaming for some time to come, but there seems to be no convincing reason to rely on Flash within a website in the 21st Century.

[JSR]

Skyfire is a browser, but it decodes flash via its servers and sends it to your iphone/ ipad. This puts a decoding 'application' between the flash and your device which slows down the stream depending on how busy the middle server is. Various comments on the itunes app store aren't complimentary about paying for this app when it doesn't work properly.

That's how I read it anyway.

You know more about this than I do, Martin!

I didn't know how Skyfire worked until I looked it up just a moment ago. Apparently Skyfire's website converts the Flash video into HTML5, which is natively supported on the device anyway. This is why you can't view all Flash content through Skyfire, only the simple stuff that's easy to convert.

I also learned that YouTube doesn't use Flash on mobile devices either, it uses HTML5.

I'm going to have to read up on whatever this "HTML5" thing is, I think...