for jumping on the iPad bandwagon.

Dump the iPad and get an Android based pad and you will have NO problems.

I have a Droid X, which is just a small version of the Android pad, with the phone added.

Now that a lot of us have iPads to do our web surfing, I find myself completely ignoring those providers that do not have iPad friendly web sites.  These are web sites usually done entirely in Adobe Flash.  So, ladies, if you want the maximum viewing of your site, PLEASE either dump the flash slide shows, or have an alternate for iPads.

Thank you!
Sy

I have always stayed away from Flash for just this reason. Although when I first thought of it I was thinking about iPhones and Palm devices. Also, Flash with sounds and complex graphics/images take forever to load. I want something that loads fast and has all the info easy to find. Don't want a guy getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar, without even having a chance to sample my cookies. LOL

Tip for the ladies, websites based in Wordpress or similar blog sites are usually PDA and non-flash Tablet friendly.

Kisses,
Vanica

Exactly!

This isn't a iPad vs android thing.  Some flash based sites are really crappy and I've had them crash. If you keep it simple, everybody is happier!

But yes, the sooner web designers quit using flash the better off we'll ALL be!

Sy

-- Modified on 6/2/2011 6:54:35 PM

So did you buy an android based pad?

It's not just an iPad/iPhone issue.
Flash is more bandwidth intensive and especially processor intensive.
It is a poor choice for sites that may be viewed with mobile devices or limited bandwidth.
It is proprietary instead of being an open standard.
It has also had frequent security issues.

Tablets, laptops, desktops, smartphones, cranial implants, .... who cares how powerful (or not) your device is.

Some of us need to use controls, proxies and filters for anonymity, privacy and discretion. Bells and whistles are great if you're designing a website for Disney or a Broadway show. Many of us need sites that load quickly, cleanly, NO MUSIC, a minimum of crapola, etc., can be easily "cleaned up" if interrupted, and so on. Text, a few SIMPLE pictures or graphics, unambiguous hot links or buttons ... stop with the pop-ups and whiz bang special effects stuff that can get us into trouble.

There are many provider websites that I can tell are beautifully done but I won't touch them after I recognize the home page as an entry to surfing hell. Some providers' web sites have options for entry:
[Enter Flash Version] [Enter HTML Version] [Enter Mobile Version]

I know. I'm a broken record, saying this over and over. For many of us, surfing "this" stuff cannot be done the same cavalier way we surf amazon.com or CNN. THANK YOU for keeping that in mind when you design your sites.

And remember, there was a time when many web sites said that you MUST use IE 6 only, or the site wouldn't work.  The whole point of the Internet is to use totally open standards, which flash is not. Just because something is used a lot, doesn't mean it's a good thing.

My point to providers(or any web site that wants a wide audience), is that if you choose to use flash, you leave out millions of potential viewers.  I can't see these sites on my blackberry either.

Your site is actually one of the most mobile friendly sites I've seen.

Instead of a glorified paperweight.  Any device that isn't compatible with such a large portion of the internet, isn't worth having.  Apple does such a great job of marketing to idiots.

All of my devices support flash. Still I agree with the most of the above. Using flash and music which is nice on a a lot of pages, is not a good idea in this business. Any business ad needs to understand the target market. while you may not like Apple's non support of Flash it exists and ignoring it leaves out a large possible client viewing. In addition many who have Flash avoid such pages when looking for ladies. Many of us search on mobile devices and with limited time. If a ladies page is still loading after a few seconds I tend to move on. If the purpose of a ladies page is to grab new business then you only have a few seconds on the first page that comes up to get our attention. That page should be as fast to load as possible and should work equally as well on all devices and browsers that try to access it. I remember a great graphics designer once checking a design in black and white as well as color. When I asked why in this age of color, she said not all of their target audience had color. Well ladies not all of your target audience are viewing at home on fast connections and big screens.

You can ride your high horse if it makes you feel mighty, but if you're marketing to the public, some of those millions of idiots that you lose to Flash may be lost customers.  I suppose that, being superior to them, you wouldn't want to take their money anyway.  It's probably just stupid money.

That's the same logic people used when some banking web sites went whole hog Microsoft.  You had to only use IE on Windows.  That would leave Mac, Linux and other Unix users out in the cold, and you couldn't use on-line banking unless you had a Windows computer.  There was no reason for it, other than it was easier for the web designer to use the Microsoft provided tools.  When people complained, some said "then get a Windows machine".

The point is that using proprietary tools is wrong, and web sites should cater to their audience.  If millions users have devices that don't play well with Flash, and you want them to see your web site, then don't use Flash. Calling them idiots for not buying a different device is crazy.

Flash was good in its day, but its time to move on.  The internet moves on.  Apple may be marketing to "idiots", but those "idiots" make up the majority of the public.

Sy

Never said Mac users or iOS users are the "majority".  I said the majority of the public are "idiots".  And when I say that, I mean that the majority are not tech geeks.  

And many android based phones aren't full smart phones.  But even with only a 16% share, that's still millions of people.  So if I was making a web site that i want to meet the largest audience, I'd make sure that ALL viewers can see it.  And if it doesn't cost me more, then it's a no brainer.

This is not a flash or no flash, or Mac vs windows, or android vs iOS argument.  This is fundamental marketing strategy of marketing your wares to the largest audience, and using technology that gives you the broadest market.  Notice that Amazon doesn't use flash, and they don't limit Kindle books to the kindle.  They want anyone and everyone to access their site.  That's all I'm saying.

we are still smarter that those who use microsoft or android devices....flash is a dying technology html5 does not need flash. Adobe makes a good job to market a system that no one really need + it sucks up all your computer resources.

fact 1: you cannot compare 1 manufacturer against many. There is not a single device that have outsold the iPhone or iPad period.

2. of course Microsoft is at 80% most of their devices cost a fraction of the Macs. Quality is king at Apple, Microsoft machine are low quality across all the brands..

get the fact straight

All but one page of my website is non-Flash; this is an intentional decision on my part.  I tried not to use Flash at all, but I just couldn't figure out a way to have my photos page work right without Flash.  So my photos page is Flash, but the rest are not.  I put various pictures of myself on the other pages to try to make sure the Mac / Ipod / Ipad viewers will still be able to see what I look like.

I'm sure there is a way for my photos page to be non-Flash, but I'm not tech savvy enough to figure it out.  If anyone wants to point me the right direction, I will look into it again.  I created, designed, uploaded and update my website 100% on my own, but I'm an amateur, and it is definitely a learning process....

On my high horse?  No.  Someone who got duped into buying a useless piece of garbage that can't display a pretty large portion of the internet, and then begging for the rest of the world to adjust to make up for his lack of technical savvy would be riding a high horse.  Instead of demanding to have a device that allows you full access to the web, you want the internet to adjust to you.  lol.  How absurd.  If you ignored the MacBooks and stood in line for hours to get a shiny new paperweight, then you yes, you're an idiot and probably don't deserve to get off.  If a provider chose to ignore ipad users, I'm sure she wouldn't be missing much.  The statistics show that.  She would probably would be sparing herself a lot of annoyance in fact.  Can you imagine spending an hour or more with some idiot that thinks an iPad was worth the money?  Makes me cringe to think of the idiotic conversation she'd have to entertain.  "Hey, this is pretty wild.  Check this out, sweetheart.  Did you know I have an ap that farts?  Amazing!!"  

I hate most flash websites.  But I'll damned if I fork over hundreds of dollars to let someone else decide that I can't look at them.

I love my ipad and love the fact that even if I drop it and it is my fault Apple will replace it no questions asked...why don't you try that with Dell,HP,  etc etc?

Apple machine are easy to use and intuitive just like Mercedes which are built around the driver so that when you sit in one everything is designed to be intuitive and at your fingertips not like a toyota prius or the like that it takes 10 minutes just to figure out how to start it.

-- Modified on 6/4/2011 10:27:09 PM

we have a choice to buy what we like...it is funny how some ppl criticize Apple and yet all major manufacturers are trying to emulate all their products and the funny thing is that they all have failed so far.

(about the link) there is nothing wrong to be wealthy, use Apple products, drive luxury cars, see 1k/hr girl, etc

Peace

Cpu & graphic cards contrary to popular belief are not the most important parts of computers...the power supply and motherboards are and quality wise only Lenovo match Apple. It is well-known that most PC manufacturers use inferior parts except the above mention manufacturer. A good motherboards cost 2-3 times the CPU or graphic card. Apple use better quality components + the design is outstanding.  


http://www.whatgoodisyouroldphone.com/2010/01/motherboard-the-most-important-part-of-computer/

I ignore flash sites even on my laptop too much resource suckers + Chrome and Firefox keep crashing the Flash plug-ins