Re:Nissan Leaf
by benmccann on Friday February 18, 2011 @02:04AM
(#2234569)
Flash is a threat to the openness of the web. I can't reliably watch video, play games, or do anything else requiring Flash on my computer because I run Linux. Requiring you run an OS of Adobe's choosing is antithetical to the basic tenets of the web.
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I run flash on ubuntu/chrome. Not that you have to, but the option is there.
No it's only antithetical to the tenets of Linux users.
edit: Just saying, people who knowingly choose Linux don't expect to use Flash.
I disagree. The web exists because browsers and servers communicate based on open standards. The HN server doesn't know or care what OS or browser I'm using. I could be sitting here typing in my GET requests manually if I was fast enough. Nobody cares. It's a protocol.
When the web relies on a technology where the "protocol" is "first install this proprietary plugin, if it's available for your setup, and if not, screw you," it is antithetical to the protocol-based approach.
Look at how much browsers have improved in the last few years, making new things possible on sites. This happened because anybody can write a browser that conforms to HTTP protocols, Javascript specifications, etc. Do you see the same kind of improvement in Flash players? No. Because there isn't competition.
The web is better off without Flash. Or anything else that can't have 100 competing implementations.
Some linux users. I love Linux but very little of the reason has to do with free software and has everything to do with Linux being the best way for me to do a number of tasks.
Note: I use Windows / OS X on the desktop.