Re: FLASH: RE: FLASH's future

[David Mendels]

Hi Tim,


Macromedia is part of the W3C Vector Working group, and don't worry, I

think Flash is well on its way to being the defacto standard for vectors on

the web.  The W3C was looking only at *text* based formats for vector

graphics, and has accepted a submission called SVG.  A text based format

might be good as an exchange format for vectors, and as such, Macromedia

might even support it.  But it is unlikely to be a good runtime format

(slower, bigger) and as of today there are zero tools that support it

(Flash is supported by tools used by hundreds of thousands of people),

there are zero browsers that support it (Flash preinstalled in Windows 98,

MacOS, Netscape Navigator, AOL, and has had tens of millions of downloads),

it is unclear if Microsoft or Netscape will ever support it (Microsoft has

another text based vector format called VML that Macromedia may also

support), the proposed specification says little about animation, and about

media integration.  Flash happens to use vectors, but it is much more than

just a vector format for the web--typical Flash sites combine vectors,

bitmaps, audio, animation and interactivity.  What we are aiming to achieve

with Flash is really very different than just a format for displaying

vectors on the web.  Summary: I don't think SVG will really overlap all

that much, even if it ever does get adopted, and it may serve a useful

purpose in the exchange of vectors and be a format used for getting

graphics into Flash for display as .swf.


Regards,


David

Macromedia


At 08:04 AM 2/28/99 -0500, Timothy Palmer-Benson wrote:

>Hi:

>Just got through a Flash workshop at the Ojaji Digital

>Arts Centre which was conducted by Josh Ulm. The class was very good but I

>was alarmed to learn that the W3 or whatever it is called is not or has not

>adopted Flash for its new standards. What does this portend for Flash? I was

>told that it might not be so popular a year or so from now, which then

>raises the question of whether it is worth spending a lot of time on. Anyone

>care to comment or critique these statements?

>

>Regards

>Tim Palmer-Benson

>Morgan, VT

>

>

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---------------------------------------------------------------

David Mendels                               

Vice President and General Manager, 

Web Publishing, Macromedia

dmendelsmacromedia [dot] com

Add Life to the Web                         

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