[Hidden-tech] Restaurant websites built using Adobe Flash?

[Chris Hoogendyk]

Tom Kopec wrote:
> At 09:52 AM 1/22/2009, Info @ WinansCreative.com wrote:
>
>> We had cases where SEO wasn't that big a concern to our client, and 
>> we explained the risks/benefits of using Flash well in advance. The 
>> goal was to get people to spend more than 20 seconds on the site 
>> looking for just their info, so that they could really experience 
>> what the brand was all about.
>
> IMHO, this is a serious problem. You are wasting my time for your 
> (client's) goals. In general, if I get stuck in eye candy when I'm 
> looking for information (MY goals), I will go somewhere else if possible.
>
> While I'm ranting, I generally surf with sound off because of all the 
> noisy websites out there. I'd really like to be able to leave sounds 
> on, but it is just too distracting and annoying, not to mention a 
> waste of bandwidth.
>
> Just my $0.02, foe what it's worth.. 

I use Firefox for browsing. I installed the addon FlashBlock. ;-)

When I come to a site that has half a dozen flash thingies on the page, 
I have blank blocks where those would be and a play button in the middle 
of the block. If I choose to see what's up, I can click on the play 
button. But, mostly they are just advertisements, and I don't care. It 
greatly simplifies browsing and eliminates most of the distractive 
"flashing" all over the web page when I'm trying to read some text. I'd 
almost forgotten about those stupid hula girls on weather.com until I 
just now tried to remember what it used to be like. Do they still have 
those?

When I come to a page that has one of those introductory "movies", it is 
blank with a play button. Typically, there is also a close box that 
indicates you want to bypass the introductory item. Since my browser 
didn't automatically start downloading and playing the flash, I get 
where *I* wanted to go faster.

Occasionally (rarely) I will have trouble working with a page because of 
the restrictions I have applied to Firefox. In such instances, and only 
in such instances, I will jump to Safari. Then it generally works and I 
quit Safari and go back to Firefox for almost all of my browsing.

For those on low bandwidth connections, this may also solve some of the 
bandwidth problems.


-- 
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Chris Hoogendyk

-
   O__  ---- Systems Administrator
  c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments
 (*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center
~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst 

<hoogendyk at bio.umass.edu>

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Erdös 4