The So-Called Flash Killer (Say What?)

[Brittany]

This also relates to the Microsoft Could Kill Flash Banner Ads discussion in the Affiliate Marketing forum..

From InternetNews:

New Longhorn Graphics Tool Called "Flash Killer"
by Erin Joyce

"Top developers at Microsoft (Quote, Chart) are working on a new graphics and animation toolset for Longhorn (the next generation of Windows) that could spell trouble for Macromedia's (Quote, Chart) popular Flash MX and Director MX animation tools...

Code-named 'Sparkle,' the tools under development would be integrated with Microsoft's .NET (define) runtime environment. That would ultimately mean developers could have Flash- and Director-like animation and graphics tools ready-built for them soon after Longhorn hits the marketplace. ..."

Read Full Article

So is "Sparkle" going to kill "Flash"?

Are you worried? Could you care less? Is Microsoft doing something that should have been done a long time ago?

[Sualdam]

I'm sure the MS-bashers will have a convoluted reason why MS is wrong to do this. However, I think the headline is sensationalist.

I mean, it is called 'Sparkle', so the headline says 'Flashkiller'. Clever.

A bit of competition won't hurt Macromedia, and the first version of Sparkle (or whatever it is called when they launch it) is hardly going to drag people away from Flash.

On top of that, considering the current situation with simple V4, 5, and 6 IE (and other) browser compatibility issues, are web designers going to start designing for Sparkle while only Longhorn users (and techies) have the 'player'?

It'll be interesting to see how this develops. But I bet it will take a while.