JD on EP

I've found that when it comes to computers, first impressions don't go away. The techies from Slashdot, Newsforge, and the like discovered Flash long, long ago. Until recently, the majority of Flash use has been for website intros, obnoxious advertisements, and oversized website animations. This is all that they see and remember.

Similarily, free or open source tools have only matured in the last year. There's a vocal minority among this crowd that demands free tools. Some go further and require the source. For these people, Flash selling at several hundred dollars is out of the question. Thankfully, they can now access the open source MTASC for AS2 and the free Flex 2 SDK for AS3. This is a great step that will win some people over (once they get over the misconception about Flex's pricing... As a side note, when you guys tell everyone that Flex is free, you should also always mention that Flex Builder is not. Most people seem to connect the two as one entity).

It's also important for the community of Flash developers to strive to create well-performing, low-resource SWFs. I can't believe the number of techies that think that Flash uses up too many resources, that it's unstable, and that they have to turn it off. You'd think a Flash developer would be facing these issues constantly.

Things are getting better, though. I've seen many Flash ads in the last year that I actually enjoyed because they've been simple and effective with just a little bit of Flash goodness. I see fewer sites with Flash that have the traditional wiz-bang animations that got so darn obnoxious. In time, with a few hints now and then, I think Flash will be more accepted by this type. However, there will be many that will always hate Flash to it's core no matter how hard you try.

I agree with you, Josh Tynjala!

[jd sez: link to online dating service removed.]