Adobe flash player

1) I doubt anyone could choose a surgeon based on that very brief 1 minute video (a PDF transcript of which is also available that can be read on an iPad if necessary but not linked to in a non-Flash way unfortunately). However, a quick Google search on Dr. Guzzo's name quickly found a more detailed Profile than that video gave: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/surgery/faculty/tjg.html and found other websites even giving patient ratings (which would be more interesting to me as a potential patient, than marketing material published by the surgeon himself).

2) I couldn't actually locate the specific info you referred to, but that one page you linked to is the only one on the site that was partially unviewable on the iPad. Everything else, news, press releases etc. was all in standard HTML and viewable, so presumably the info would be available in text form too.

3) Another 1 minute vague video (a transcript of which is available underneath). Again, the rest of the website works fine on the iPad (navigable by the menu) and provides much, much more useful information than the 1 minute video: http://www.ssa.gov/planners/about.htm
Even the application process worked (as far as I could go with it without a SS number) and the main http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ mentioned in the video also worked on the iPad.

4) That huge Flash intro provides nothing that isn't more easily read/printed/saved on the HTML page that followed it:
http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Digital-SLR-Cameras/25468/D7000.h tml

Unfortunately, Nikon have provided no way at all to proceed from that Flash page without Flash, so I just went to the site home page and chose "Digital SLR Cameras" from the menu, then clicked the D7000 "Find Out More" link.

5) The "About FDLE" video contains brief excerpts of information that is available elsewhere on the site in more detailed and easily read/printed/saved HTML format.
I've no idea why they posted an audio-only Halloween Radio Announcement in video format. Completely pointless and unnecessary.

So, it wasn't difficult at all to find alternatives and in doing so, I actually got far more detailed information in an easily printed, linked to, saved format than the videos you couldn't view.

Please do not suggest that I (and my wife) made a decision based on a single piece of information. Please understand that it was important that we obtain EVERY piece of information that was available to us. We wanted as full a package as was humanly possible and we were not about to discount anything for any reason. In fact, Guzzo was not a final contender for either of us and videos from other surgeons helped us rule him out.

How much of your response was determined by using your iPad and ONLY your iPad? Did your iPad state "This is a 1-minute video?" How much of your response required you to use a device that does support Flash?

If you and your wife were facing a life-threatening situation, how would you use your iPad to obtain the identical information elsewhere? How would you even know what was the identical information without first viewing it on a device that DOES support Flash? I could ask similar questions about the other pages but I think that you get the point. It wasn't difficult for you to find alternatives +because you first viewed the material using a device that does support Flash.+ (Yes, the Patty Duke video is a joke but, until I accessed it with a device that does support Flash, I had no way of knowing that.)

By the way, I got to the Nikon video FROM the web page that you identified and, contrary to your comments, the video was much more valuable and did help me make my decision.

I can't believe you would actually argue with philly and others about wether or not the content they want to view is considered neccessary, instead of just accepting the fact that not having Flash on the iPad is a problem for them, as well as others.

Philly congratulations on your three thousandth post!

-SM

I can't believe you would actually argue with philly and others about wether or not the content they want to view is considered neccessary

I can't believe people are still responding to this thread.

I can't believe you would register on this forum, and then only comment on every Flash related thread going. Don't you have anything else to talk about or don't Adobe pay you for that?

And anyway, I haven't said not having Flash on the iPad isn't a problem for anyone. I know that some people need and want Flash. However, in a lot of cases, alternative content (often more detailed) is available to those people who choose to use an iPad. By missing a Flash video, you could end up actually being better informed.

Julian Wright wrote:
And anyway, I haven't said not having Flash on the iPad isn't a problem for anyone. I know that some people need and want Flash. However, in a lot of cases, alternative content (often more detailed) is available to those people who choose to use an iPad. By missing a Flash video, you could end up actually being better informed.

I "kinda" agree except, as I stated above, that you don't know what alternative content you're looking for until after you see the Flash video. In my case, I frequently prefer the Flash videos, which is why I immediately go to my Mac. The lack of Flash on the iPad is a major nuisance but the device does have compensating advantages.

Oh yes, owning an iPad and wishing it supported flash can't be based on anything other than I must work for Adobe.

No way could it be that I like the thousands of others who have posted here simply want Flash to run on our device.

God forgive me for signing up to a forum supplied by the company which I purchased from and asking for a missing feature.

You as well as the others who want to dictate what is considered needed content are the ones keeping my posts coming, because for every time you say you don't need it, I have the rigt to say that I do need it.

I checked all your links on the iPad and looked around for alternative content on the iPad by following links and doing Google searches. I viewed the Flash videos on my Mac (obviously) so that I could fairly comment on exactly what I was missing by using the iPad. As it turned out, the information that was available to the iPad was more informative than the specific links you posted. If you were Googling information you wouldn't reach those non-working pages directly. As you mentioned, you "stumbled" across those particular non-working pages whilst looking through the web-sites with the other information on.

But we probably just use the internet in different ways. Personally, I rarely watch informational videos as they are often poorly produced, badly scripted and take far too long to get the information across. A piece of text can be quickly skimmed at a glance and provide more information in a few seconds, instead of having to sit and watch a video for minutes.

Philly I would just give it up.

It's like having a debate with kim jung il or fidel castro.

Julian Wright wrote:
What is all this +"extremely valuable content in Flash"+ you mention?

As a web user of almost 20 years, and a web (inc. Flash) developer since 1997 I can't really think of anything I would class as +"extremely valuable+" - and certainly nothing that can't be had elsewhere in an alternative form... The vast majority of Flash stuff is advertising, promotional or games. Truly valuable content is information and news - both readily available in non-Flash form.

Julian, as a web developer since 1997, you should know that Flash is vector based and was originally conceived by Macromedia, since back then it was useful to use flash to complement HTML. It was until later on when companies exploited the features of flash and begin adding the rich multimedia content that we see now that made flash an essential part of any content browsing and interactive usage. Yes, HTML 5 had somewhat caught up, but flash had an early start and many sites that many depend upon for providing content have flash. Programmers who program flash are also reluctant to change because they know of the internet demographics of scale too!

For people who want to produce a TV commercial like event for the website use flash. Again, it can somehow be done with HTML, but why should they? There are like 90%+ computers out there that are capable of doing flash; even basic flash. The iOS devices -- not even a basic flash. Why should flash website programmer change to accommodate the small number of iOS users?

Extremely valuable content is a relative term here.. Philly Phan likes to browse medical websites that can sometimes be heavily flash based. To him, this is valuable. I am a healthy individual, so why would I visit the same sites as Philly Phan? I do, however, visit some sites that are health related and one in particular is a martial art site which I attend their classes. The site is very plain and simple, but their forms are flash based. So, I can not view their schedules, fees, registration etc... The tabs won't work on the iPad. I voiced this concern to them and they did a survey of all their members. Only about 0.5% own an iOS device of some sort. The 99.5% own a computer and get their info that way. Today, their website has not changed. I had, however, changed. I use my eLocity A7 to browse wirelessly for their latest schedules, last minute changes and all the forms, schedules etc work perfectly!

As some other person here had mentioned, Android tablets with flash work really well on all the flash based sites. You need to know that consumers will always go for the path of least resistance! This has been true for ages as demonstrated by iOS and Mac devices (they are so easy to use). Your alternative suggestions to Philly Phan ARE NOT the path of least resistance. In fact, people like you had been showing alternatives as a debate against flash. Very few of you had actually convinced anyone to stop browsing flash based websites and go for alternatives.

Keep in mind that the true purpose of the web is to share information in its basic form -- text. HTML does a splendid job at it and that's what Mr. Jobs had in mind. There are ways on the iPad through Apps that you can bypass flash content and if a person finds an alternative to their liking, that's fine.
However, 2011 will prove interesting for the tablet market as new players like RIM and the Google Honeycomb and Gingerbread and the new flash player implementation will surely supplant existing users who do not plan or wish to bypass flash sites ever.

No way could it be that I like the thousands of others who have posted here simply want Flash to run on our device.

The difference is, most people who post here also comment on lots of other aspects of using and owning an iPad. 99% of the posts you've made are solely about the absence of Flash - a situation that has not changed one bit since you first posted about it.

God forgive me for signing up to a forum supplied by the company which I purchased from and asking for a missing feature.

This is a user-to-user forum. You are not speaking to Apple here. If you want to make feature requests, do them in the right place. Repeatedly posting on a user-to-user forum will have no effect whatsoever.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

for every time you say you don't need it, I have the rigt to say that I do need it.

If you need Flash so much, why on earth did you buy an iPad? Seems a bit stupid to me...

Flash is vector based and was originally conceived by Macromedia

Wrong! It was originally made by a company called FutureWave. Macromedia bought them and re-named their "FutureSplash Animator" product as Flash. I remember first experimenting with Flash when it was still FutureSplash Animator.

Again, I'm not saying there is no use for Flash at all, ever, anywhere. I still have to use it in my job from time to time (although a lot less often than 5 years ago with jQuery, HTML5, CSS3 etc. coming along), but the situations where it is the only option for a task are getting fewer and fewer, and that is only going to continue in my opinion.

Julian Wright wrote:
I checked all your links on the iPad and looked around for alternative content on the iPad by following links and doing Google searches. I viewed the Flash videos on my Mac (obviously) so that I could fairly comment on exactly what I was missing by using the iPad. As it turned out, the information that was available to the iPad was more informative than the specific links you posted. If you were Googling information you wouldn't reach those non-working pages directly. As you mentioned, you "stumbled" across those particular non-working pages whilst looking through the web-sites with the other information on.

But we probably just use the internet in different ways. Personally, I rarely watch informational videos as they are often poorly produced, badly scripted and take far too long to get the information across. A piece of text can be quickly skimmed at a glance and provide more information in a few seconds, instead of having to sit and watch a video for minutes.

I have seen some really krappy Flash videos. However, we do understand each other. Cheers!

Thank you for proving that you don't need Flash to find all the necessary, relevant information.