Flash has been the one plugin to count on thru the years. It has garnished the trust of more users then any browser the product has been used for. Designers have come to know it as the one tool they can count on for consistiency regardless of browser specs. It would be a shame to throw away future sales of flash software and the entire industry of flash on the web over something as pityful as adware.
Macromedia has gotten to where they are now because of the ease of use of their downloadable plugins.
For designers and developers, we embraced the use of Flash technology because it was so readily accessible for day-to-day users and if we required our users to have the latest update of Flash, we were confident the users wouldn't mind downloading a new plugin.
For me, Flash 3 was the first version that I used. Over the years, Flash has become so popular that it no longer can be considered as an "extra" skill, it's requested or required for most web projects.
People download Flash Plugin FOR the Flash Plugin - they know that the plugin is good.
If Flash begins to cause problems for our clients, there will be a large exodus of designers and developers switching to CSS-based websites.
MM should stick to the business strategy that made Flash successful. Please rethink your decision before it is too late!
In the off chance that this gets read by the right people, I'm very very displeased. I work in IT and I spend a good chunk of the day removing those things ie yahoo / weather ect. But I like macromedia flash. You must realize that including junk programs might get your website blacklisted on a couple routers just to save me some time and money each month. I know thats harsh but thats the worse case scenario, one I thought id never see coming.
The fact that the MM reps are hiding under the "its not a bundle!" argument is a sad commentary.
They know the deal: if you hit "install now" without reading the 200px EULA box or checking the opt-out you end up with adware.
The fact that they cannot even acknowledge that they got bought to use the player for anothers advertising campaign tells you how hopelessly outta touch they would like you to think they are.
They are smart people and this was a calculated move because the math said it makes more money even if it screws the product and people who use/develop it.
I have a very hard time believing people inside the MM player department dont have a beef with this & really wonder if they are being silenced by their employer.
In the past several features have been left out of the player in order to keep the download size small for dialup users (which is important to market saturation) - now suddenly they add 1/3 extra size to the player to host adware? You do the math.
Good for big business, bad for the people.
Yeah, lets be honest... this is just making everyone annoyed. Why would I want to develop a site in flash, if you are going to require my customers, and thier client to get some goofy toolbars ect. Flasn and Shockwave have been successfull because we trust using the product... If Macro continues this, it will tarnish thier name. Maybe only slightly at first, but multiply that my the Xmillion people mad about this yahoo toolbar, and they will lose our trust.
I do not know anybody who ever willingly installed the Yahoo toolbar, or any other toolbar. This tells me that most people don't want another toolbar, so why (other than greed) package it with Flash Player?
Не самая лучшая идея. Это близорукая политика использовать своё доминирующее положение чтобы заработать легкие деньги, мировой маркетинговый опыт показывает что это плохо заканчивается. Да и потом, эта "акция" злит "продавцев", а если продавци не рады то они активнее ищют другой товар.
Remove the bull****! We pay thousands of dollars to develope programs and we don't want to see the ****, and our clients that pay bigger bucks sertainly dont want this ****ing crap.
Carton rouge à Macromedia sur ce coup là !
Vous feriez mieux de proposer votre propre barre avec la capacité de recherche dans les sites réalisés en Flash.
The toolbar is a betrayal of our trust that Macromedia will not create a negative impact on OUR client's perceptions of OUR work. I am extremely dissappointed with Macromedia, and we are actively reviewing alternatives.
Posts: 10 angry
I make my living using Flash and Director. I pay money to Macromedia for the right to develop software for my clients and their audience. People will not install the flash player because they are suspicious of the toolbar. Thus this translates to me potentially losing business.
Am I over reacting? Probably, but I do not want to wait around and see the flash player whored out to the highest bidder.
Macromedia, make your money elsewhere.
This is just bad.
Adding this crap is the best way to weaken shockwave and flash.
As a developer providing products with high quality level whithout spyware is my goal. I think it should be MMs goal to.
With the new crap it is impossible to keep my products clean because they are based on mm products.
Imagine everybody would do that. Imagine every Installer contained that spam. Why not 'upgrade' the Freehand / dreamweaver Installation itself with that ?
What do you think my clients think about that ?
regards
m.
www.shocktime.de
The addition of 3rd party software to the flash player will cause that a lot of flash developers stop using flash. This is the worst way to get profit.
By adding any such software, potential projector users will develop a negative opinion about the technology in general, and your vast coverage of user agents with flash/shockwave projector plugins will gradually decrease. And when you are down enough, the developers will start considering SVG.
While such a decision might prove to be profitable in the short run, long term consequences could jeopardise the interest of future developers, and throw off the ones that are currently loyal.
Enough has been said already, I agree wholeheartedly that flash should not come bundled with any additional software by default. This could also potentially hurt the adoption rate of FP8 when it is released.
I don't agree with the uber-negativity, however I do believe that practices like the current bundle will be the downfall of Flash and Shockwave penetration. Please re-consider.
Leave it to macromedia to fall to greed. They did it with MX2004, and it sucked hard as a result. Now they'll f*ck up the F8 player. Soon the Flash format will be replaced by MS Sparkle, thanks to this bullsh*t.
I can't believe macromedia wants to be involved in screwing people like this.
It comes down to watching out for the average consumer/visitor - they shouldnt have to enduldge themselves with the shenanigans of companies relying on their ignorance to install unsolicited software
I was upset and shocked to see Yahoo toolbar on the Flash download. Does Yahoo want to be as ubiquitous as Flash? Maybe they should make a software package that is loved by developers and is free of the crap that drags the internet down.
This is truly a bad decision and this will hurt your strongest supporters of the Flash technology in the community - the developers and the designers. The same viral effect that Flash has generated is all credited to the designers and developers who have championed this technology to the world.
We have backed you, we have complete buy-in to the technology and have much invested in it - we are the people who make up your target base and we are not happy from this decision.
It may appear as a minor change to you, but this is very important change to all of us - it speaks volumes about how you value your technology and your customer-base.
How is this a bad sign of things to come? And what does this mean to the future of Flash in general?
Mass deployment of the Flash plug-in is the highest credited buy-in to management when adopting the Flash technology in-house to an organization or proposing it to a potential client. Yahoo knows that you have the absolute best ability to distribute their toolbar because you are the market-leader in plug-in distrubution online.
Trust us - this is a very bad strategic move and mark my words - you will lose a lot of the credibility and trust you have established with loyal mavens and connectors - who do you think made you tip? - Tipping Points can reverse.
