Why I’m Going Flash Free
What you see above is what I will see every time I try to watch an online video from a site that uses Adobe Flash like Hulu or Youtube for example; or play a Flash game such as Farmville on Facebook. (again, just an example. I don’t play Farmville)
There are numerous reasons for my decision.
-Flash is a CPU-hog and makes my poor Macbook’s fans run full-tilt when trying to render a flash video. This gives me the impression that Flash is simply a very inefficient plug-in, particularly compared to its Windows counterpart. This is because Flash player on Windows has GPU acceleration, whereas on the Mac side, this capability is not made available to 3rd-parties such as Adobe.
-Due to the aforementioned, I’ve long-felt like a second-class citizen in this Windows-dominated world in which we live. If I can’t have a Flash plug-in that’s at least on-par with what is available to the majority of people, I’d rather not have it all.
-I’ve had the first iPhone since launch and haven’t found myself wanting for Flash as far as I can remember. I used to play a lot of Flash games, but they have been superseded by Apps.
-I plan on getting an iPad which won’t support Flash either, so I need to plan ahead and learn to live life without Flash.
-I want to support the new standard of HTML5 which is currently being implemented and will hopefully lead the way towards a flash-free Internet.
-Youtube and Vimeo have recently introduced basic HTML5 players, so it’s obvious to me that this is the way web-video is heading.
-And finally, just look at SublimeVideo. It’s nicer than any Flash player that I have ever seen. And that will most likely run inside the iPad’s browser without the need for any plugins or modifications.
I doubt Flash will ever go away completely and I may find myself reinstalling it in the near future. However, for the very first time since I’ve started using the internet, I can honestly say that I could get by, doing my general day-to-day web browsing activities without having Flash installed; And that makes me and my Macbook’s fan very happy indeed.
SVG Edit
SVG Edit is a Vector editing program built entirely in Javascript and run inside all the latest browsers. Amazing.
note: also renders fully and correctly in the iPhone’s browser. But lacks any multi-touch event management, so it’s basically useless. Still very interesting to see though.
Aspect Ratio
Apropos of I’m not sure anything, the screen on this thing, at 1024x768, has an aspect ratio of 4:3. Chairman Gruber opined on Twitter a month ago (speaking of his iPhone’s video camera), “Who wants 4:3 video nowadays?” And I have to admit, my expectation for the iPad (pause for giggle, pause for mental image, pause for shudder) was that as time went on, our screens would get closer to 16:9, not further.
But it was clear in the device’s orientation when Steve first pulled it out, and in the orientation of the Apple logo on the back, that the iPad (…) is meant primarily to be used in portrait mode, that it’s function as a video device is really secondary to its function as a reading device. And 9:16 is now, and will probably always be too damn skinny for a screen.
As you can see above, an iPad screen in portrait is equivalent in aspect ratio to two iPhone screens stacked in landscape mode. What does this mean? Put two and two together, man. Do I have to spell it out for you?
UPDATE: Fine. Apparently, I have to spoon-feed you people. It’s about the inherent duality of man and his finite and structured capacity for self-love. Bicameral duplex onanism and okay I got nothing.
Dyson unveils small City DC26 vacuum - SlashGear
This looks really cool, I’m definitely in need of a small vacuum.
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