I’ve been holding off commenting on the whole Silverlight vs. Flash debate, but, John Dowdell from Adobe posted about Silverlight vs. Flash article from ZDNet. I couldn’t resist commenting, so I have posted my comment here as well. I’d love to hear your thoughts…
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Originally posted as a comment at JD on EP:
I have been developing Flash applications for over 10 years and have welcomed every update MACR/ADBE has released. However, over tha last few years I really feel that MACR/ADBE has focused on the wrong things. Working for a large media company, we need better rendering performance, better video quality, some form of media security (DRM), and better developer tools and standards so when we hire on “Flash Developers” we don’t have to try to find out if they are experts in AS1/AS2/AS3 or design/animation. My feeling is that AS is still a scripting language and not considered a true programming language. Sure, this is changing with AS3, but finding C# programmers and testing their skillset is easier than Flash and AS.
MSFT, is drawning a line between Designers (Expression Blend) and Programmers (Visual Studio) with both IDE’s blurring the lines a little. However, Expression Blend can attract designers both traditional and motion graphics designers (potentially, even After Effects folks). The workflow makes sense and staying true to timeline based animations and drawing tools (which a designer can relate to). The ADBE Flex model typically relies on the programmer to make/wire up the tweens and animations, thus makes the developer act as a designer — I think MSFT has it right.
MSFT, with Silverlight, basically has seen where Flash is weak and is focusing on “killing” it with these features. Now, I believe in the future we will still have Flash (it’s powerful in may other ways), however, if ADBE doesn’t make up for lost time, Flash may not be the only rich media player in town.
Danny
View Comments (6)
Your comment about actionscript 2/3 not being a real language is conjecture. What defines a "real" language? Someone who is versed in these languages probably has a lot more design patterns under his belt than a C++ programmer due to the nature of the emphasis on proper structure in flex programming and event models.
Video - silverlight? Come on... it's hype. Video is video and flash video is EVERYWHERE. Silverlight is nowhere.
better video quality? I've used flash video on2 codec and I cant tell the difference. The difference is between WMV which used hardware acceleration to provide smoother frame rates. Silverlight doesnt use hardware -- so its still software based rendering.
Flash video does have encryption and streaming -- Have you ever tried using it without progressive download?
The timeline in expression blend is horrific. Have you ever tried using the program? It's a joke. Maybe down the line it will be fine, but the program is bloated and is nowhere near after effects. I dont know why it would attract after effects - after effects is video editing and special effects and it rocks. Expression blend is windows only and not mac. Designers use macs.
Your comment about actionscript 2/3 not being a real language is conjecture. What defines a "real" language? Someone who is versed in these languages probably has a lot more design patterns under his belt than a C++ programmer due to the nature of the emphasis on proper structure in flex programming and event models.
Video - silverlight? Come on... it's hype. Video is video and flash video is EVERYWHERE. Silverlight is nowhere.
better video quality? I've used flash video on2 codec and I cant tell the difference. The difference is between WMV which used hardware acceleration to provide smoother frame rates. Silverlight doesnt use hardware -- so its still software based rendering.
Flash video does have encryption and streaming -- Have you ever tried using it without progressive download?
The timeline in expression blend is horrific. Have you ever tried using the program? It's a joke. Maybe down the line it will be fine, but the program is bloated and is nowhere near after effects. I dont know why it would attract after effects - after effects is video editing and special effects and it rocks. Expression blend is windows only and not mac. Designers use macs.
Joe P,
I have worked on some very high profile applications, the ABC FEP is one of them and everything I stated is based on experience not theory.
I don't understand your video-is-video statement. No, all video is different. It's about how efficient the player is when rendering it. Flash sucks! It's great for low quality, but for higher quality content, you're really pushing it. VC-1 is an industry standard (in both HD DVD and BluRay spec).
As for Flash video security, yes, I have been using it for years since FlashComm 1.0 days. It's not a true accredited content security system. I don't think ADBE would even call it secure.
As for the IDE comment, I disagree. It's different than the Flash model, sure, but I feel that it will be easier for designers. I could be wrong, however, it made sense to me (I consider myself more of a developer). The reason why I said it could attract After Effect folks is that the UI and Flow relates more to that software than VS or Flash.
Your point about Expression Blend not being available on the MAC -- true. But, all new Mac are PC's, so you can use Blend. :)
Joe P,
I have worked on some very high profile applications, the ABC FEP is one of them and everything I stated is based on experience not theory.
I don't understand your video-is-video statement. No, all video is different. It's about how efficient the player is when rendering it. Flash sucks! It's great for low quality, but for higher quality content, you're really pushing it. VC-1 is an industry standard (in both HD DVD and BluRay spec).
As for Flash video security, yes, I have been using it for years since FlashComm 1.0 days. It's not a true accredited content security system. I don't think ADBE would even call it secure.
As for the IDE comment, I disagree. It's different than the Flash model, sure, but I feel that it will be easier for designers. I could be wrong, however, it made sense to me (I consider myself more of a developer). The reason why I said it could attract After Effect folks is that the UI and Flow relates more to that software than VS or Flash.
Your point about Expression Blend not being available on the MAC -- true. But, all new Mac are PC's, so you can use Blend. :)
Joe,
Have you actually worked with Silverlight? No components, 5 Mbyte plugin download, 3 different versions, iffy multiplatform support... Silverlight in my opinion at least 18 months away from real world use. By then I am sure Adobe will have pulled out a number of new "rabbits out of the hat" to solidify it's market position...
FYI, no one has even seen Silverlight mobile yet... Flash lite is already deployed on millions of phones.
Joe,
Have you actually worked with Silverlight? No components, 5 Mbyte plugin download, 3 different versions, iffy multiplatform support... Silverlight in my opinion at least 18 months away from real world use. By then I am sure Adobe will have pulled out a number of new "rabbits out of the hat" to solidify it's market position...
FYI, no one has even seen Silverlight mobile yet... Flash lite is already deployed on millions of phones.