Comment by interlagos | Hacker News Reader

Comment by interlagos | Hacker News Reader

A modern website needs to be accessible on PCs, tablets, and smartphones. While there are arguable reasons for segmenting off the last option as an outlier (though some devices offer the resolution and capabilities exceeding some desktops), it is less justifiable making a distinct version for a tablet.

So you end up making a rich "HTML 5" version for tablet and smartphones.

Why, then, would you bother with Flash for the PC? If you have a modern simile for Tablets, Flash is just completely redundant.

Flash is a sign of a derelict site. It would be hard to justify its use for greenfield development.

     If you have a modern simile for Tablets, 
     Flash is just completely redundant

I'm against Flash but this argument doesn't hold. It's like saying - if you have a modern website designed for mobile phones, than a native iOS app is redundant.

Flash is not redundant if it allows you to escape the browser's limits. Here, I'll give you an example -- try doing chat-roulette without Flash.

If HTML5 doesn't do it now, it soon will.

http://devworks.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Native-webcam-suppor...

Pretty soon a 'chatroulette' type app without Flash will be a reality. Plus, it will work with tablets and phones, something Flash soon won't be doing.

It was just an example -- the browser is by definition limited. This also has advantages, but experimenting with new capabilities is not one of them.

Bigger question:

How does Flash jive with responsive web design techniques, meant to provide one flexible interface for desktop and mobile form factors?

Answer: It doesn't.

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