Flash ads...

[shekondar]

I'd just like to know which ad keeps asking me to install Flash... every time I visit, I get a popup window telling me to install the latest version of the Flash player! :bad-words: The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!

[Janak Parekh]

The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!
I have to say, I'm no fan of pop-up ads and the like, or overdone Flash, but Flash is a fairly compact, reliable player and it's hard to navigate the web without it nowadays. Macromedia has accomplished their goal of web (world) domination... ;)

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

I'd just like to know which ad keeps asking me to install Flash... every time I visit, I get a popup window telling me to install the latest version of the Flash player! :bad-words: The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!

Gosh....Flash is on upwards of 95% of all computers now I think, so you're a rare breed to not have it. It's a very small, stable player, and Flash allows advertisers to develop small, slick ads. Not to mention that our poll counters are Flash-based too. :D

Come on, give in...install the player. I promise it won't hurt you. :mrgreen:

[Ed Hansberry]

I'd just like to know which ad keeps asking me to install Flash... every time I visit, I get a popup window telling me to install the latest version of the Flash player! :bad-words: The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!
There is one ad that has a pretty cool little space sequence that is Flash. I can do without a lot of things (Real Advertis{del}{del}{del}{del}{del}Audio and QT for example) but Flash is a must have. How else could you watch classic scenes like this:

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail36.html

:lol: :rock on dude!:

[trachy]

There is one ad that has a pretty cool little space sequence that is Flash. I can do without a lot of things (Real Advertis{del}{del}{del}{del}{del}Audio and QT for example) but Flash is a must have. How else could you watch classic scenes like this:

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail36.html

:lol: :rock on dude!:

Now that is just too hilarious... I just love ads where you wonder what the heck they're selling.

[paqman_lover]

I'd just like to know which ad keeps asking me to install Flash... every time I visit, I get a popup window telling me to install the latest version of the Flash player! :bad-words: The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!

What I've done is install Flash but i've also downloaded a very small java program that can rename the browser Flash plug-in so my browser can't display Flash but i don't get the pop-up about installing Flash. when i come across a site that i want Flash like animatrix.com, i click a button and the java program renames the plug-ins and i can see the Flash. when i'm done i click the other button and it renames the Flash plug-ins and i can no longer see Flash. It's called jtFlashmanager and i got it free from cnet.com's downloads awhile back.

[Kati Compton]

Now that is just too hilarious... I just love ads where you wonder what the heck they're selling.

Nothing, actually. Strong Bad is great. If you go to http://www.homestarrunner.com you can get a lot of stuff, but http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html is the start page for the "Strong Bad Emails". Guitar, Dragon, and Japanese Cartoon are among my favorites. Though many of the others on the list are very good.

--- do you use your powers for good, or for *awesome*?

[spg]

...The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!..

Gosh....Flash is on upwards of 95% of all computers now I think, so you're a rare breed to not have it. It's a very small, stable player, and Flash allows advertisers to develop small, slick ads. Not to mention that our poll counters are Flash-based too. :D
Yes, the latest stats showed 98% of all internet connected computers have Flash installed. Used to Flash installed alot of other stuff with it (Shockwave player, etc..), but now it is only a few second download for even the slowest of dial-up connections. I say install the thing, it isn't going to slow anything down. As the matter of fact, animated flash ads are alot of times going to have a better size ratio than an animated gif ad, so it will actually load faster (depends on the amount of animation).

On the advertising topic - I know running a site this large isn't cheap, and when it is your main job, it puts even more strain on that budget. I totally agree with you Jason, sites like this really need advertising to survive, and if people block that, they are making it that much harder for the site to last. Now those popup/popunder ads on the other hand, they are just plain evil :twisted: not to mention killing the advertisers chance of selling me a product right on the spot. (Example: X10. Their home automation stuff really appeals to me as a geek, but their wireless camera ads really get on my nerves, and as a result I've never bought anything from them)

Keep up the good work Jason, and keep those popups at a good distance. :)

[qmrq]

The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!
I have to say, I'm no fan of pop-up ads and the like, or overdone Flash, but Flash is a fairly compact, reliable player and it's hard to navigate the web without it nowadays. Macromedia has accomplished their goal of web (world) domination... ;)

--janak

I HATE Flash! For the same reason that I hate Adobe Acrobat, WMA, WMV and such . . . going against set standards for your own benefit is a very, very, bad thing. :| Also, too much of the Flash out there is ugly crap thrown together by script kiddies. :(

[qmrq]

I'd just like to know which ad keeps asking me to install Flash... every time I visit, I get a popup window telling me to install the latest version of the Flash player! :bad-words: The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!

Gosh....Flash is on upwards of 95% of all computers now I think, so you're a rare breed to not have it. It's a very small, stable player, and Flash allows advertisers to develop small, slick ads. Not to mention that our poll counters are Flash-based too. :D

Come on, give in...install the player. I promise it won't hurt you. :mrgreen:

It will hurt you!! The Flash player bites! It really does!! Stay away!

[Jason Dunn]

The last thing I need on my box is another bloated, buggy player that will give me the privilege of seeing more ads!!
I have to say, I'm no fan of pop-up ads and the like, or overdone Flash, but Flash is a fairly compact, reliable player and it's hard to navigate the web without it nowadays. Macromedia has accomplished their goal of web (world) domination... ;)

--janak

I HATE Flash! For the same reason that I hate Adobe Acrobat, WMA, WMV and such . . . going against set standards for your own benefit is a very, very, bad thing. :| Also, too much of the Flash out there is ugly crap thrown together by script kiddies. :(

Adobe Acrobat? WMA? WMV? Are you serious? 8O

What possible standards are there for those? Are you suggesting that text files are a good replacement for Acrobat files? Or that MP3 is a "standard" and WMA shouldn't have been invented? MP3 is a proprietary licensed technology owned by Thompson Multimedia, not an open source effort like Ogg Vorbis. WMV? It kicks ass over MPEG in many ways.

More innovation breeds better products for all of us! I'd hate to live in a world where we only had one video format, controlled by one company - we'd never see any improvements!

And rejecting a format because some people aren't as talented as creating it as others is a bit silly IMO. Using that logic, you'd have to reject HTML as a markup language because some people make ugly Web sites with it...and how much sense does that make?

[Janak Parekh]

What possible standards are there for those? Are you suggesting that text files are a good replacement for Acrobat files? Or that MP3 is a "standard" and WMA shouldn't have been invented? MP3 is a proprietary licensed technology owned by Thompson Multimedia, not an open source effort like Ogg Vorbis. WMV? It kicks ass over MPEG in many ways.
Well-put, but it's even more extreme when there isn't a replacement technology. At least for MP3/WMA, there's Ogg. But what's the replacement for Flash? DHTML/Javascript? Do you know how poorly that works across browsers? I'm a big fan of standards, too, but I also recognize and accept "de facto" standards, and like it or not, Flash is one of them.

As for the poor taste, I can't help you there. But that's pervasive through all of society. ;)

--janak

[davidspalding]

Flash is great, I hvae it on my own workstations but don't bother on my test machines. Which makes for some funny lunchtime browsing.

That said...

I particulary dislike Flash ads because they are just better than GIFs. In the sense that they are eye catching and can be very compelling. But ... my banner blocker doesn't catch Flash, which it should >:( . So I sometimes find I'm browsing and stumble across one of those annoying, NOISY Flash banner ads. Grrrrr.

In general, using WebWasher and Popup Manager in IE keeps my web use tolerable and pleasant. I can't stand what the Web has become for those who don't use these tools. Like a bad Phlip K. Dick nightmare. Blech.

[Jason Dunn]

But ... my banner blocker doesn't catch Flash, which it should >:( . So I sometimes find I'm browsing and stumble across one of those annoying, NOISY Flash banner ads. Grrrrr.

You won't find much sympathy from me I'm afraid - pop-ups aside, I don't understand how you can expect to get content for free and not "pay" for it by letting a few ads load. Do you think servers and bandwidth, or the time taken to create content, are free? :|

[paqman_lover]

But ... my banner blocker doesn't catch Flash, which it should >:( . So I sometimes find I'm browsing and stumble across one of those annoying, NOISY Flash banner ads. Grrrrr.

You won't find much sympathy from me I'm afraid - pop-ups aside, I don't understand how you can expect to get content for free and not "pay" for it by letting a few ads load. Do you think servers and bandwidth, or the time taken to create content, are free? :|

I agree with you, I don't know where a person gets the idea of free content from. It's not like a person could watch tv or listen to the radio and not have to pay anything. :wink:

Actually aside from the Flash banners i let everything else load here for now since i haven't come across any headache-causeing, pulsating ads which would also draw attention to my web surfing during work hours habit :).

[trachy]

Jason - I think you guys have done a respectable job of advertising. Most offerings are relevant and aren't too intrusive. That said, please avoid the floating ads (more (http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-advertising6.htm)) that obscure the view of the page. At least with a pop under or over ad I can ignore it until I'm ready to deal with it. Nothing drives me away from a site faster than one where I have no choice but to suffer through one of these.

[Kati Compton]

But ... my banner blocker doesn't catch Flash, which it should >:( . So I sometimes find I'm browsing and stumble across one of those annoying, NOISY Flash banner ads. Grrrrr.

You won't find much sympathy from me I'm afraid - pop-ups aside, I don't understand how you can expect to get content for free and not "pay" for it by letting a few ads load. Do you think servers and bandwidth, or the time taken to create content, are free? :|

While I agree with you, Jason, about ads being a reasonable way to pay for using the 'net, I have to also agree with davidspalding about the ads with sound. Really, any web page with sound I didn't specifically ask for and know I was getting bothers me. I don't always remember to turn off my speakers when browsing late at night, so sometimes come across rude (not in content, in volume :razzing:) surprises.

It also makes browsing multiple sites, etc. annoying because there have been times where I don't know which page is causing the horrible music/noise/sound effects.

But I see that as a separate issue than Flash itself, which I don't mind. Unless it's ads that are animated floating stuff covering up the content I want to see (Yahoo was doing this for a while)

[Jason Dunn]

That said, please avoid the floating ads (more (http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-advertising6.htm)) that obscure the view of the page.

If you ever see any of those on a site I run, you have my full permission to flame me. :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

While I agree with you, Jason, about ads being a reasonable way to pay for using the 'net, I have to also agree with davidspalding about the ads with sound. Really, any web page with sound I didn't specifically ask for and know I was getting bothers me. I don't always remember to turn off my speakers when browsing late at night, so sometimes come across rude (not in content, in volume :razzing:) surprises.

I agree completely - I'm almost always listening to music while working at my PC, so when a Web page makes sound it irritates me too. That said, I can count on one hand the number of times it happens a week (maybe a month). It's very rare for me, so I don't know that ads with sound is a legitimate argument for not having Flash installed. I sometimes thing disabling MIDI on my computer would be more worthwhile - why do some people think it's "cool" to play old '80s songs in MIDI format on their Web pages...? :roll: :lol:

[Steven Cedrone]

I sometimes thing disabling MIDI on my computer would be more worthwhile - why do some people think it's "cool" to play old '80s songs in MIDI format on their Web pages...? :roll: :lol:

Awww, c'mon now...Sometimes there is nothing like hearing a butchered, MIDI, version of "Stairway to Heaven" to enhance your web browsing experience... :wink:

Steve

[Janak Parekh]

Awww, c'mon now...Sometimes there is nothing like hearing a butchered, MIDI, version of "Stairway to Heaven" to enhance your web browsing experience... :wink:
:pukeface: :lol:

At least nowadays soundcards and OSes have wavetable synthesis. Anyone remember the good ol' Ad Lib MIDI synthesizers (amongst the first for PCs) with the super-primitive FM synthesizers? I felt sooo cool back then when I could play any music on my PC. :D

In any case, having set up MIDI for customers, it has its time and place, but webpages are rarely one of them.

--janak