CSS Animation Coming to Safari, Already in iPhone. Less Dependence on Flash?

[forty-two]

Well look at the big brain on Eric. And the big feckin mouth too. Since you're so smart, perhaps you can do a nice little screencapture and put a bigass red circle for us drooling retards, where it gives you the option to just use tabbed browing, and open all links in tabs instead of windows, without having to hold down modifier keys to tell it to use a tab on every single link you ever click ever. No you can't, because the option doesn't exist. It's not simpler, nor more convenient to have to use two hands and two devices just to navigate pages in a freakin web browser.

Actually, the option does exist. In fact, I'm using it right now!
All you have to do is open up a Terminal window and paste in:

defaults write com.apple.Safari TargetedClicksCreateTabs -bool true

That will make all links that would normally open a new window open in a new tab (without having to hold down a button).

 

[Cromulent]

you couldn't possible be more wrong...

treat yourself to some education and google "SWFAddress", and you might want to also google "SWFObject" before you consider another false argument like "flash site's have an inherent disability to be crawled by search bots"...

God knows what you are talking about, but the person you quoted was talking about people who are disabled finding it hard to navigate flash sites.

 

[JackAxe]

God knows what you are talking about, but the person you quoted was talking about people who are disabled finding it hard to navigate flash sites.

God does know, but that's not me... He did provide an answer, but as you noted, most won't know what these things are.

SWFAddress is a JavaScript which can tie any link with in the SWF into the address bar. This makes the refresh, back, and next buttons behave as one would expect, as long as the developer knows how to make it work.

SWFobject can be just as important for accessibility as it is for making a Flash site searchable by web bots. I'm not sure how best to explain this, so here I go:

First off, it's function is to embed the SWF onto the page, if the requested version of Flash is present, it writes the object into a targeted DIV. This all happens instantly.

OK, in that mentioned DIV, one can put important links and copy for that page.

Now why this is important, is that if someone doesn't have FLash, that content will show up and the user can navigate a basic version of the site, but more importantly, that information is all searchable by a web bots, or readable by any tech that can see HTML, so any descriptions and so on.

Now that HTML content that's is hidden by Flash, can then be pulled into the SWF and rendered in absolutely any way imaginable with any font. Compared to just HTML and CSS, Flash has absolutely no limits -- but of course this can lead to bloat when a developer is inexperienced.

I'm probably not being clear enough, but It's good practice of any Flash site, to make sure all their content is accessible like any other HTML site. SWFObject just allows one to put all their content in HTML, where anything can find it, but that content will be hidden in its basic form to anyone that has Flash installed.

Anyways, Adobe has had several articles on accessibility over the years. It's completely possible to go way beyond CSS/HTML with FLash, but this all falls on the developer.


-----
Just a general comment, I think it's ironic that most see Flash a bandwidth hog, when it can do more with less than any other tech, but of course that all falls on the developer's experience -- too many are lacking in this area and they work for larger agencies.

 

[djellison]

Flash is a thing of the past,

You keep telling yourself that. It's not true though.

 

[50548]

You need to pull your head out and take the blinders off. I'm really starting to hate the Apple community and being clumped together and categorized with the snobby, uneducated people in it. I know we're not all like that but those that are elitists need to go.

Most people here are voiced their rejection of Flash as it stands today; Flash is slow, bloated and adds little value to the ordinary web experience. It SUCKS, and anything that poses an alternative is more than welcome.

As for hating the Apple community, we are the ones that have kept the company alive in its darkest years...no other company receives this kind of support in the world. So if you are not happy to be part of it, just go buy a commodity PC...before they all disappear, of course.

 

[Digitalclips]

RE: Flash is soon to be gone:

You keep telling yourself that. It's not true though.

Ultimately what does it matter if something better were to come along? I am not saying it has yet but simply wondering why the defenders are as adamant Flash is here to stay as the attackers are to see it go. The same always seems to happen in this industry so I shouldn't be surprised, remember the 'Keep Mac OS 9 we hate OS X" threads? Progress from Apple, tend to work out for the best in my 30+ year Apple using experience, 'Sugar Water Sculley' era aside .

 

[beg_ne]

Embedding fonts.

Old News...http://webkit.org/blog/124/downloadable-fonts/

 

[kdarling]

Ultimately what does it matter if something better were to come along? I am not saying it has yet but simply wondering why the defenders are as adamant Flash is here to stay as the attackers are to see it go. The same always seems to happen in this industry so I shouldn't be surprised, ...

Exactly. The older and wiser people in this group have seen many things come and go, that at first we thought would stay forever.

(I can't count the number of programming languages that were predicted to change the world, for instance. Or recording formats.)

So defending something is fine. But defending (or bashing) it to the exclusion of anything else, is almost certain folly. A year or five or ten down the line, the arguments for or against, will be hard to remember.

 

[The Phazer]

No chance of this replacing Flash anytime soon. Not in IE6 = not mainstream enough for most users.

Flash are also doing a lot of work in building in DRM to prevent video/audio stream ripping which will continue to push Flash to the top of the queue for professional media companies and broadcasters.

Phazer

 

[pdpardue]

Safari 4 ran the animations

Safari 4 dev beta seems to support these anitmations

 

[djellison]

A year or five or ten down the line, the arguments for or against, will be hard to remember.

I agree. In 10 years, flash may be dead and buried.

But today, now, it's a vital element of the modern browsing experience.

Doug

 

[Mr Fusion]

I agree. In 10 years, flash may be dead and buried.

But today, now, it's a vital element of the modern browsing experience.

Doug

Exactly. I'm all for Apple creating a future new alternative to Flash, but RIGHT NOW I need Flash to run a lot of things. Put Flash on the iPhone already!

 

[Eric5h5]

No you can't, because the option doesn't exist.

Like I said: middle-click. Why is that hard? You don't do anything; it just works. That way it's equally easy to open links in new windows (because occasionally you still want to) as it is in new tabs.

--Eric

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

Flash is not well-loved in the web design community. And there are many people who disable it specifically because it slows things down and is used primarily for advertisement. It is also controlled by a single company, which isn't cool for our go-to animation solution. It badly needs to be replaced and some gears are already slowly propelling us in that direction.

this is very good. it means that either flash gets much better, leaner, reliable or it dissappears. and with 20 million iphones/ipods supporting it already many will support this standard soon. and since it's in the css standard there will soon be a way to switch it off yet you will still be able to read the text unlike with flash.

You'll only see things like this, for quite some time, in applications specifically made to be viewed on Apple computers or on the iPhone. This stuff isn't really going to creep into general web use until it is standardized, web designers know they can degrade it gracefully to old browsers, and until they've got a cross-platform benefit (perhaps Safari/Firefox) to consider it. Internet Explorer probably won't come around to supporting these things for a very long time.

And the HTML 5 video tag won't be used until they can find a way to display video properly in older browsers, or until it has been supported by all current browsers for quite some time. Object embedding is a mess right now even without the introduction of new solutions—but a standard simple solution really would be nice to have around.

 

[BlueRevolution]

For the 1% of the forum population without an iPhone or iPod Touch, you may be interested in a video [21.9 MB] of the animations. Sorry, I don't know what the codec is, just whatever my camera uses.

I'll remove the video from my dropbox after a couple of weeks, so the link may be broken for latecomers.

 

[mackmgg]

It's in the iPhone Safari already. Click on those links from your iPhone or iPod Touch. (And read the article more carefully )

arn

its also been in my Safari 4 Developer, not the nightly build, not updated within the last month.

 

[pooryou]

Awesome we have finally caught up with Netscape Navigator 4.0 from 1997.

 

[dante@sisna.com]

It's got everything to do with the fact that Flash is a very intrusive technology, is inefficient in the way it runs on many computers and is completely overhyped and overused by a horde of web developers who don't know any better way to achieve certain effects than stampeding toward the Flash icon in their Dock.

Perhaps so, BUT Flash is very valuable for merging Dynamically Generated Data with rich media objects and video.

. . .the dim hope I have that Apple will have the fortitude to launch the iPhone into a formidable new platform without ever bringing that sad sack of technology detritus called Flash over to it. And perhaps that will pave the way for others to realize how completely unnecessary Flash really is.

Oh, come on now. Flash is far from "completely unnecessary."

Case in point: Right now my company is building a dynamically generated flash movie -- Unique user data such as first and last name and telephone number is merged and realistically blended with Flash video in real time. The result is that it appears as if the user's name is part of movie -- Specifically this project is for Season Ticket Holders of a Major League Sports team to motivate them to renew. In the video it appears as if the user is being drafted to the team. At the end of the Video the user receives an actual call (recorded) from the team's head coach. All metrics—such as initial play, finish video, telephone call received, and forwarding via email to a friend (and friend's data if they opt in)—are captured to the database.

Flash handles the entire process for both HTTP use, and for stand-alone use in a Kiosk in the sports area.

Program that -- using live video -- without flash.

. . . Yah, I thought so. (not so 'unnecessary' now)

Your tirade against flash and 'web monkeys' might have one critical flaw. It's sounds like the perspective of a programmer who has myopically distanced himself/herself from the reality that the marketplace, the needs of the end user client, drives technology implementation at least as much as programming efficiencies.

Here is a link to see the technology in action (and don't tell me that this kind of marketing is not needed -- as developers, that's not our decision to make: the marketplace decides this). Notice I have personalized this link for MAC RUMOR'S:

http://www.sun7news.com/index.php?code=7gY2xI3tei40xNM52819&CMP=OTC-WWYCOVS1001

Dante

We Twitter: http://twitter.com/FireCatCreative

 

[leonstafford]

Here is a video I captured for those who can't see the animation in their browsers: CSS Animations in WebKit Video

Flash is a thing of the past, people who have disabilities like to be able to view websites and websites composed entirely of flash are nearly impossible for them to navigate. By using CSS it allows them to view the site, and have descriptions of what is going on through their text reader etc.

Not to mention with bandwidth caps becoming rampant, I think we will see flash fade away and CSS will provided for a cleaner and better user experience in the long run.

I think that sadly for visually impaired people, there will never be a way to keep them accurately informed of multiple animated effects,events and activities happening at once. It would distract them more than a line which says "Animation of falling leaves behind shop X logo". Better they can get on with reading the real content.

As a Flash developer, I know its downfalls quite well, and most Flash developers don't think its by any means the perfect solution. However, for animation on the web, I think it is the BEST SO FAR. Try doing blurred, motion animations with multiple interactive movie clips in CSS and see your CPU explode, not to mention your browser crash and you eating a box of comfort cookies to numb the pain....

IMHO, if Flash was on the iPhone, no one would be paying Apple money for iPhone games and software when they could have better Flash ones for free... I think Apple likes money as much as any of us and doesn't want to lose that revenue stream.

 

[h.21]

It's in the iPhone Safari already. Click on those links from your iPhone or iPod Touch. (And read the article more carefully )

arn

How about, read the TITLE more carefully? You may be getting trolled, something like that is hard to overlook.

 

[swagi]

Perhaps so, BUT Flash is very valuable for merging Dynamically Generated Data with rich media objects and video.



Oh, come on now. Flash is far from "completely unnecessary."

Case in point: Right now my company is building a dynamically generated flash movie -- Unique user data such as first and last name and telephone number is merged and realistically blended with Flash video in real time. The result is that it appears as if the user's name is part of movie -- Specifically this project is for Season Ticket Holders of a Major League Sports team to motivate them to renew. In the video it appears as if the user is being drafted to the team. At the end of the Video the user receives an actual call (recorded) from the team's head coach. All metrics—such as initial play, finish video, telephone call received, and forwarding via email to a friend (and friend's data if they opt in)—are captured to the database.

Flash handles the entire process for both HTTP use, and for stand-alone use in a Kiosk in the sports area.

Program that -- using live video -- without flash.

. . . Yah, I thought so. (not so 'unnecessary' now)

Your tirade against flash and 'web monkeys' might have one critical flaw. It's sounds like the perspective of a programmer who has myopically distanced himself/herself from the reality that the marketplace, the needs of the end user client, drives technology implementation at least as much as programming efficiencies.

Here is a link to see the technology in action (and don't tell me that this kind of marketing is not needed -- as developers, that's not our decision to make: the marketplace decides this). Notice I have personalized this link for MAC RUMOR'S:

http://www.sun7news.com/index.php?code=7gY2xI3tei40xNM52819&CMP=OTC-WWYCOVS1001

Dante

We Twitter: http://twitter.com/FireCatCreative

Now thanks for this nice and informed post about Flash. I'm by no way a Flash-hater, but I have to tell you one little thing, that Flash really sucks in - performance.

It doesn't matter, if Flash is installed on 98% of the computers. If 50% of these computers are older than 3 years, then they usually are screwed. Try to view your link on a G4 equipped computer for instance. I tried, my PB G4 1.5 Ghz wont give me a nice experience on your page.

So basically I guess you would agree with me, that Flash developers tend to have their head high in the clouds only cross-checking on current machines. They rarely try tro imaginge some people using 5yr old tech to view the page.

And honestly, my Powerbook could do webvideo just fine all these years. Then Apple messed up Quicktime, Adobe messed up Flash-Video. But I refuse to buy a new comp, just to watch FLV in acceptable framerate.

Point in case for you, as the other posters seem to imply, that those CSS animation will be even more messy and CPUintensive.

 

[Razziesca]

CCS aaha falling box no flash on iphone

Apple, video,we need flash u guys are the haters 498dollars
No more iphone full page advertisment.

 

[kurosov]

Apple, video,we need flash u guys are the haters 498dollars
No more iphone full page advertisment.

Pointless post by someone who does not even understand the topic being discussed.

 

[iPhoneJoe]

cool but useless unless it becomes a css standard

 

[ethweg]

I don't really understand what this is about, it sounds like flash which Safari Supports. Can someone explain? Thanks!