Do we STILL need to check for Flash?

[thodya]

It's distributed with most mainstream browsers, it's preloaded with Windows+IE, and Mac+Safari, and at some point EVERYONE has encountered Flash at some point. Most big sites have Flash banners, some big corporations use it extensively on their public sites (eg. Nike).

Do we still need to be checking for it? Or can we finally be safe in the assumption that nearly everyone can see Flash enabled content?

[EVPohovich]

Always check, and always check for the latest version......especially if you are using the latest version of Flash to produce your .swf's.

[The_Xell]

So, use javascript or Flash to check? What's the best method?
I would imagine checking and then forwarding to the movie rather than having it at the start of the movie would be best?

[thodya]

There are lots of ways to check for Flash...that's not really the issue.

For me, the issue is having to do a static version of something that really lends itself to Flash. So, I'm creating two versions of anything that has Flash content, one for Flash-enabled browsers, and one for the 1.8% of Internet users who don't have Flash, and are highly unlikely to venture on to the site.

Why are they not likely to go to the site? The only conclusion I can draw from someone not having Flash, is that they must use the Internet VERY rarely. With the amount of Flash content on all the major sites on the net these days, it's impossible to do something as simple as a Yahoo search without encountering it.

I just feel like doing two versions of everything is a lot of extra work for virtually no benefit.

Version checking is another issue. Flash Player 7 is still only at around 80% penetration, but I'm still exporting at Version 5, so I don't see too many problems arising.

[EVPohovich]

Originally posted by The_Xell
So, use javascript or Flash to check? What's the best method?
I would imagine checking and then forwarding to the movie rather than having it at the start of the movie would be best?

Use JavaScript to check for the presence of the Flash player (almost everyone has it, but the few lines of code that it takes covers your backside nicely) and then you are free to use Flash to check for the version and forward the user accordingly.

I just feel like doing two versions of everything is a lot of extra work for virtually no benefit.

I agree. I simply state on a HTML page that the site that they are trying to visit uses the latest in "Internet Technologies" and describe how easy and fast installing the flash layer really is. Example
This is an older page and does not list the latest version number, but you can get the idea of how to make your own redirection page.

[Ask The Geezer]

Just curious, but if you use javascript to entice those people who refuse to install flash, what makes you think they have java enabled?

Personally, I don't worry about the tiny minority who don't have flash. It just seems like a waste of time. With a redirect to download and install, they aren't going to anyway, since they've already gone to some length to NOT install it when they installed their OS.

[thodya]

I agree. These days you actually have to go to great lengths NOT to have Flash. So it's unlikely that those who don't have it are just "behind the times".