March 27, 2010
Not Using Flash is Trivial, Really?
Although there are certainly a number of uses of Flash that can be easily ported to HTML5 and Canvas, e.g. slideshows, the notion that HTML5/Canvas will allow developers to create highly sophisticated animations and dynamic display elements as quickly as ActionScript 3.0 object-oriented Flash/Flex applications is naïve at best. Further, not only will the development likely take substantially more time, but the time required to test/debug across all browsers will skyrocket, relatively.
However, despite the added time required for development and testing associated with HTML5/Canvas, there is actually another factor that can increase costs substantially more, even by a factor of 2: old browsers and browsers that have no current plans to support Canvas. Specifically, no version of Internet Explorer natively supports Canvas and there are no plans by Microsoft to support it (However, there are plug-ins and JavaScript libraries that can allow some versions of IE to support some Canvas animations, but each of those has its own problems). As such a user base that comprises at least 50% of web users will not be able to view the Canvas-based elements or applications. Further, although not always, the least sophisticated web surfers typically use Internet Explorer and may not understand what they are missing, why things aren’t working correctly, or for that matter, that they aren’t working correctly. This is not to say that all Internet Explorer users are unsophisticated, rather the spectrum of computer savvy of Internet Explorer users is likely significantly larger because it is the default web browser in Windows.
Where Does That Leave Us?
Because of the lack of Canvas support by all browsers, the only way to effectively guarantee, with near 99% surety, that web surfers will see said elements or applications is by developing them in both Flash & HTML5/Canvas. But is that really economically feasible during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression?
The question then becomes, do you abstain from employing sophisticated animations in your site? If not, are you going to build both Flash and HTML5/Canvas versions of the element or application? If not, which user group are you going to ignore? The vast majority of users that have Flash installed and whose browsers don’t support HTML5/Canvas? Or the much smaller, but ever-growing, minority of users whose browser does support HTML5/Canvas, but will almost certainly never support Flash, i.e. iPod touch, iPhone, & iPad users.
In determining this, do you believe that iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad users are more sophisticated and/or at least understand that there are some web sites and elements they cannot access because their device(s) don’t support Flash? Typically, these users tend to be younger and may better understand, at least in part, how software and computers generally function. This is not because of their intelligence; rather, but because they have grown up in the electronic age. However, in contrast to Internet Explorer, Mobile Safari likely has a smaller spectrum in terms of computer savvy, and on average, people using Mobile Safari will indeed be more computer savvy. As such, it seems like it would be a safer bet not to accommodate Mobile Safari users, and use Flash.
Whether or not you believe these contentions about Internet Explorer users as opposed to Mobile Safari users, there is still a choice to be made: Flash or no Flash. However, the answer to this question and what it entails in terms of costs and other factors is far from trivial.
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