codeLullaby

There is a difference between running swfs on phone interface and rendering flash elements on webpages.

Allowing swfs to run directly on phone interface definitely interfere with iPhone UI experience,but rendering webpages along with flash elements in it only makes the browser experience closer to what is expected from the browser app. Its a good thing for Apple.

The Flash Player in development for iPhone is not a port of existing standalone one. As they put it,the new player in development is something in between Flash Lite and Flash Player for desktop.

So this is going to be a watered down version of Flash Player. Chances are that Apple will approve a Flash player which is targeted only to render flash content on web pages as it will make the browsing experience on iPhone closer to that on desktop.

Its possible to do bone marrow transplantation for approx. $10000 here in Kerala(South India). The service is world class. Can someone close to MySQL/SUN pass this information?

Here is a press report : http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/04/stories/2005080411550300.htm

The hospital: http://lakeshorehospital.com

'Do it Fu*king Now'

[http://seoblackhat.com/2007/01/29/do-it-fucking-now/]

You can solve the html rendering issue to some extend by using div overlays and flash-js-integration kit.

If the RIA you are developing solves a real problem efficiently in a way that appeals to end user, it will take off.

But the adoption rate of a RIA depends a lot on the platform you use for development. Gmail is a succesful RIA and it uses JavaScript and Flash. The advantage of sticking on to JavaScript/Flash over Sliverlight is that, they are already very popular. If efficiently done JavaScript and Flash can reside side by side delivering a great user experience. So for the time being,because of Silverlight's low adoption rate,a SilverLight only product may not be a great idea.

Regarding Adobe Flex, Flex its nothing more than another development tool for churning out swf files.The end product is plain old Flash. Adobe Flex allows rapid flash development for those unfamiliar with Flash CS3 (CS3's timeline concept doesn't appeal to most developers). Thanks to Adobe's marketing efforts,most people mistakingly think Flex is something RIA exclusive,while its just a development environment that churns out Flash.

SilverLight does solve a lot of headache and reduce learning curve for the traditional .NET developer when it comes to building RIAs.But from a enduser's perspective, it doesn't really bring in any specific advantage. Anything that can be done in SilverLight can be done using Flash or a combination of Flash and JavaScript. I really dont see any enduser specific advantage for using SilverLight, as it is now. Why force users to install new plugins , when the existing infrastructure(JavaScript and flash) can deliver the same user experience?

Adobe AIR is a way to convert your existing Javascript/flash/html based RIA to a desktop app. But this will require the end user to install AIR runtime first(approx 11 MB download). Compared to Mozilla Prism, Adobe AIR is super advanced in the kind of desktop integration it can impart to your web based RIA.A js/flash RIA can leverage on AIR without any tweaks.

In short, use Javascript/HTML as much as possible. Flash when you need to integrate rich media (or functionalities that require realtime user interaction like Chat ) to your js .I wont recommend Silverlight .

This seems to question the whole purpose of karma. When a user upvote a story, isn't he saying "Thanks for sharing this with the community.I want more people to see this" rather than "i agree with the content of this article"?

Karma encourages users to participate in the sharing activity.Its purpose is not to thank the content creator, but the person who took time to share it.

[Vote ≠ Karma]

Wow! I studied at one of South India's finest Engineering Colleges [College Of Engineering,Trivandrum( Not even remotely comparable to MIT in facilities)]. My tuition fee was less than 50 $ a year ! [Accommodation :- 50 cents a month!! Food from College: approx $20] Entry to the college is 100% based on merit.

[FYI,here in Kerala a decent beef steak costs $7 , 320 gram pack of Top Ramen Noodles cost $1.1 and a litre of petrol @ $1.24 ]

LOVE IT! (reminds me of the Photosynth demo @ Ted Talks)

Holidays cure cancer.Happy holidays!

You are right. One of the greatest advantages of Flash is that, you need to code only once, and you can deploy the swf wherever Adobe's flash player works.But thats the catch! The format's license do not allow the creation of software that could 'play' SWF files. The license only allows the creation of software that could 'create' swf files. Aptana, Openlaszlo are all development environments that could 'create' SWF. In short, Adobe doesn't want anyone to mess up with the Flash Player.As you may already know, Gnash is an open source movement in this direction.

What if Netscape said only Netscape's browser could handle javascript although you could write the script in emacs or notepad or whatever .. ?

As a widget usually requires only very little coding, its worth coding it in Javascript ,if it isnt too Rich with animation,video or audio.When it comes to these rich factors, there is no question that flash is the best choice.

"slower flash equivalent" ?

The basic file size of an empty swf file is approximately 35 bytes.Apart from this 35 bytes, everything else is developer contribution. The file size depends on what kind of assets you want to embed in your flash widget. If you embed more images,mp3s etc., the file size will increase. One of the greatest strengths of flash is the speed at which the 'flash virtual machine' initializes. A swf file churned out by a good developer will perform well.

Having said that i would personally prefer to go with a javascript version, if the widget doesnt require video or hardcore visual effects.Why lock yourself in a closed piece of software unless its acutely necessary ?

A major disadvantage of using flash is that, flash by default will place itself on top of everything else in a webpage. A work around for this is to set wmode as "transparent". But this will drastically reduce performance of flash widget in Gecko browsers.And hence, as far as possible, use javascript.

I live in Kerala .A word about present academic situation here:

The good old days are far gone . Quality of education is going downhill,as very few practitioners teach the subjects in colleges.Locally, teaching as a profession is considered as a low grade one , compared to engineering and medical professions by majority.This low social status coupled with poor pay has resulted in a situation,where teaching as a profession has become the last of all choices.

A system that do not appreciate innovation is in place, and is oriented ONLY towards getting high academic scores. This is sad. I wish things got better.

[I haven't studied anywhere outside Kerala, so i don't know about the situation elsewhere in India.Please don't conclude this as the situation in India, in general]

Nice concept, nice design. Great job vuknje.

But there is a bug in there. If you click multiple times fast enough(or if the same arena is opened in multiple tabs before i start voting ), it accepts each click as a valid vote.

Do not depend on UI components/client side script for validation.

And in UI, it says "New Arenas (1 - 10) " although it shows only 1-3 (/new.php)

Hope this helps. All the best vuknje.

My comment is NOT about Weebly. Its about the faultiness of voting system Time has implemented.

BTW, congrats to the guys at Weebly for getting in the list.

Not again!!! Cant believe that they[cnn/Time] are still using the same old buggy lame system they implemented for finding the "Influential People list" [http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27475 ] It was an easily hackable one and it still is. Weebly is #1 on the list now, and once again [honestly, i am embarrassed to say this ], i am responsible :(

For the "influential people list", what pg said became true ["Even if it wasn't hackable, it would still produce garbage results" ]. The final list had nothing to do with the "democratically" voted list(hacked list).

The developers who worked on this particular voting system should be ashamed of themselves. They should have implemented atleast a basic IP check.

You will have to use a custom built Java or Python wrapper to access filesystem /camera.

Here is an example for a python implementation: http://code.google.com/p/flyer

Once installed Flashlite acts almost like a flash engine from which you can run swf created for flashlite.

As of now, you cannot compare Flashlite and J2ME. Its almost like comparing Javascript with Java. Flashlite has very limited capabilities . Add to it the limited capabilities of a mobile device.

If your application want to access phone's file system(r/w), or want to access phone's camera, FlashLite alone wont help. [its only possible with a java or python wrapper]

From my personal experience Flashlite is most suited for making quick visual demos/prototypes [within hours].

Right now Adobe is working on Flashlite 3.0 , which is expected to be the most robust release ever, complete with flv video support.

One great thing about flashlite is that, if you build and test on a single device, you can deploy it on ANY flashlite enabled device without any change[subject to some device factors like support for screensavers, wallpapers etc.].This 'build once, deploy anywhere concept ' is unheard of in J2ME development world.

Oops! They did the wrong test.

The test they conducted only proves that Google's code work best on Firefox.

Paul can say this, but,

{update the server first} - {return a value} - {update the UI}

doesn't require much "effort".Its just a good practice. I am just suggesting Paul.

For automobile industry [or any direct consumer product for that matter,say ,Gmail ], a lame product will be replaced by a competition. Thats how better products dominate the market.Thats how 'survival of the fittest' works.

But for lame practices, the answer is it to break it down and show them why they should care. This is a humble reply to an extremely careless coding practice.

I am not proud of what i did.For a beta product, if glitch exist, it can be reported. But come on..this is freaking CNN! Cant they just care to implement a decent system for The Worldwide Campaign they run?

Nice move! But one thing... The server should get updated first. Only after that should the UI value change. [Right now, its the reverse here.Is there any particular reason for such an implementation?]

For a flash based implementation all you have to know is:

#1 Anyone can dissect a swf file and read your code .

#2 Own your swf files.This means ,make sure that your server side script runs/executes only if the swf file resides in your trusted domain.

For a voting system, some kind of IP based check is a basic necessity. Business2.0 didn't even care to implement it.Aint that lame?

Business 2.0 has implemented a flash based voting system to pick the Most Influential people(from their list!) .The sleek interface looks great, but actionscript that runs behind the scene is amazingly lame.

Exercising democracy is far more better than,editors handpicking a top 10 list over a pizza.But if the system built to exercise democracy is lame, then all your fun are belong to coders!

Hacking/breaking/gaming a live system is not really a cool thing to do. But what if the target is too lazy and careless ?