I have been following the recent hullabaloo about HTML 5, how it is a "Flash-killer" and will eliminate the need for plugins. I figured that since I am a Flash user, and I also happen to code web sites in HTML and CSS, I have enough experience and hindsight to make a few salient points. The big question is of course if HTML 5 will render Flash, Silverlight, QuickTime, and all other browser plugins useless or impotent. My answer, for the next 3 to 5 years, is a resounding no.
Disclaimers and Perspective
A little bit about where I am coming from: I like Flash, and use it for lots of things, posting videos online, animating 2D elements, and creating interactive applications. I have been doing this for a while, and like a lot of professionals, have grown to appreciate Adobe's tools, particularly after their first service pack or two. You might even see some ads linking to Adobe's site, among others, on this blog. I also respect and use web standard tools, and have been hand coding HTML and JavaScript for over a decade, so I do see this argument from both sides, just at a slight tilt!
HTML 5 Will Own Video Playback, Someday
HTML 5 is an open standard, backed by companies like Apple and Google, and it looks like Firefox 3.5 has a decent video player in it, though it may make sense to wait for the actual release. For the case of playing back standard video in a simple linear way (progressive download, no interactivity beyond playback controls, DVD/web resolutions), it makes total sense to me to add a simple HTML tag to show that video. I shouldn't need Flash to do this, and I won't as soon as all of the browsers in use support HTML 5. I am guessing 2015 might be the first time that happens, given that Microsoft is still developing SilverLight while corporate users still flounder using Internet Explorer 6, but I am looking forward to that day, nonetheless. Embedding video should be easy, and makes perfect sense fitting into the HTML specification.
What Will We Do Until Then?
In the meantime, we have Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, and Opera all vying for your use, and various versions of each being used out in the wild. So what is a responsible designer to do? Only those HTML and CSS and JavaScript features supported by all major browsers will be implemented, which means severe limitations or lots of broken code and user experiences. Case in point: I liked the idea of using rounded corners in this blog, so I added a few lines of code to my CSS sheet to add them. Sure I could have used images and I had to research for 20 minutes how the renders differ between Firefox and Safari, but I like the effect, and it is a nice reward for those not using Internet Explorer. Just two lines of code, but it is just rounded corners, not essential to the experience. What if interactivity for a product configurator or a key product animation visual were browser dependent? It will be a dark day when I have to download the new "Best viewed with Firefox" banner!
Plain and simple: If a customer comes to me with a project, and it requires significant interactivity or any nontrivial animation, my answer will be to use Flash.
Read Part 2 as to why Flash will reign for the foreseeable future.
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