Ask HN: Should I join a company that relies on Flash? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Should I join a company that relies on Flash?

1 pointsteve11410 comments

Hi HN,

I am considering a move from a stable corporate job to a 10 person company that is serving the same industry. I am very impressed by their application (SaaS) it is really miles ahead of the competitors and is getting a lot of buzz recently.

My only worry: They built their entire application in Flex... If flash dies a slow death like IE6 we may be up a creek without a paddle if we don't completely revamp the UI.

I asked about this conundrum in a call with the CIO and the answer was we will deal with it when we need to.

I'm not worried about iOS not supporting flash since the application is data entry driven by nature so I'm not sure if mobile will be a factor.

What do you guys think? Should I jump in?

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I don't think flash is going anywhere, people give Apple too much credit in it's ability to kill flash. As much as do not like Flash and developing with Flash Adobe provides a strong value for those that continue to use it. Android has help stave off Apple from running rough-shot over the mobile industry and therefore their is no eminent threat of Flash's demise. One of it's strongest points is the ability to develop in flash and export out to native application for several devices. Unity does this with their game engine and it has been very successful.

So the broader question is do you like Flash? If so, go for it; if not find something else. I am not a huge Flash fan and it would not bother me if it did die off, but I think it is foolish to predict it's demise at this time. It has strong competition from HTML 5 but still leads on the front of having the best creative tools available and Adobe behind it. As long as Adobe keeps it relevant it should have a long and healthy life.

I love their UI and the simplicity SaaS brings, so I guess I love flash :-)

I won't be developing but I will be managing any enhancements and helping with the sales channel.

Thanks!

If you're happy working in flash for the forseeable and you trust them when they say they'll deal with it if it's an issue then go for it. The biggest risk if flash did die a slow death would be that the company could stay with it and you'd be losing relevant skills. The reason I think they could stay with a dying technology is perhaps they'd have enough existing customers paying and enough new customers unaware that flash was dying that it wouldn't seem to be a problem until it was too late.

I guess you take your chances on that one and if you think they're making a mistake later you can always jump ship. Personally I say go for it, I think it sounds like a good company to work for.

The company definitely has plenty of customers and the reason they need me is that they have TOO many new customers coming their way for information on the software.

I'm sure most of the customers won't have any issues with Flash at the moment since many aren't technologically advanced.

If you are asking this question there is more than a chance that you like flash/flex. If they built their tool on top of flash there is more than a chance they like it. Hence, you are meant for each other! I wouldn't be concerned about technology issues. If tomorrow flash dies the company will probably explore news ways, new tools. But at that time you will probably have met great friends and colleagues. I think it is more important to focus on the people you work with, rather than the technology you/they use.

Great point, I'm excited about working with the team.

I think it will be a great ride!

Ask the employer "lets say tomorrow adobe goes belly-up and flash is not open sourced, what will you do and how practical is it?"

There is nothing wrong with flash, some things require it (see YOU TUBE) and there are reasons for requiring it. If flash gives a competitive edge, the use it. I like flex as a framework, MXML is actually very powerful.

Thanks,

Building on flex definitely gave them a leg up on the competition, all other applications are still server based.

Steve

YouTube does not require Flash. Most or all videos are served via HTML5 video if you ask them to. Also, the various mobile YouTube apps (on iOS, Android, etc) show the videos just fine without Flash.

YouTube is 100% prepared if Flash disappears.

Thank you everyone. I think I was already sold on the company but was curious if anyone on HN said "Hell No!"

They are flying me up to their office next week to meet everyone in person. Wish me luck!

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