4 ms·

Flash Ads Are Broken

39 points by jamesjyu 16y ago

ecaradec 16y ago
Nice idea but windowless flash are also more cpu consuming, so ads would use more cpu. I wonder what's the environmental impact of a change like this would be ;) What's strange was that performance was my original thought when seeing that title, flash is breaking the web is so many ways. I'm not sure it would change anything for Chrome though, the plugin in a process seems to use the windowless model by default. I'm not sure about that, but the rendering speed while doing my experimentations with http://swiffout.com http://swiffout.com seemed to suggest that.
- jamesjyu 16y ago
  Yeah, Flash is just broken in many ways :) We have to weigh the performance impact against making sites simply unusable. I've seen so many times where I just can't click dropdown menus or lightbox content because Flash covers interfaces.
melling 16y ago
I uninstalled Flash on my Mac about a week ago. Wanted to see if I could reduce the fan noise and heat. The one thing that might make me reinstall is that YouTube only supports 1 in 10 videos in html5, if that.
- itg 16y ago
  Did the same thing. There are extensions out there that convert from flash even if youtube doesn't offer the html5 version.
- slig 16y ago
  Chrome now has built in support for plugins block. If you're a chrome user, you should try it.
- technomancy 16y ago
  I use the youtube-dl python script for that; I love not having flash installed.
- riobard 16y ago
  Try this if you use Safari http://www.verticalforest.com/2010/06/09/youtube5-html5-converter-for-youtube-videos/ http://www.verticalforest.com/2010/06/09/youtube5-html5-conv...
- semanticist 16y ago
  I've had the system Flash uninstalled on my MacBook Pro for a couple of weeks now. In cases where I really do need Flash, I open the page in Chrome. Chrome keeps its own version of Flash, and if you quit the browser once you're done with the Flash page the Flash processes won't hang around beating up your computer.
- terrellm 16y ago
  I too was getting tired of the fan noise, heat, and extreme CPU usage caused by Flash. While I was tempted to uninstall Flash, I thought I'd try Click to Flash (http://clicktoflash.com/ http://clicktoflash.com/) first. I've been happy with Click to Flash and appreciate having the ability to turn it on when I have to have Flash (Google Analytics, Pingdom, YouTube, Slideshare.net, Vimeo, Pandora, etc). Unfortunately, I just don't think it's possible to run without Flash and still be able to achieve the productivity some of the prior mentioned Flash-enabled websites give me.
Xuzz 16y ago
Or is it just that using Flash for ads is an abuse of the tool?
technomancy 16y ago
Actually I kind of hope people keep using flash for ads since it's so easy to avoid them by just not having it installed.
- jamesjyu 16y ago
  Yes, that may be the case for people who are savvy enough/willing to uninstall it. But for most people, this is not the case, and they're the ones who have to deal with the fallout.
- fauigerzigerk 16y ago
  I totally agree. I dread the day when animated ads move to html5. That's when I'm starting to use aggressive, indiscriminate ad blocking, something I haven't done so far out of consideration for ad funded sites I like.
willscott 16y ago
In defense of this practice, it seems like the fact that ads force themselves above everything else is quite useful in preventing click fraud. Wouldn't allowing the flash ads to have a non-window wmode make it would be much easier for malicious websites to trick visitors into clicking on ads that they weren't aware were there?
radley 16y ago
Has anyone here considered using an ad blocker instead?
lamnk 16y ago
Recently i discover Chrome's Click-to-Play flash builtin feature (you can reach it in Preferences/Under the Hood/Content Settings/Plugins). It's similar to the ClickToFlash plugins for Safari: http://clicktoflash.com http://clicktoflash.com, but it's integrated in Chrome, you don't have to install anything to use it. Disable flash really enhanced my browsing experience: pages load faster, cpu usage down, more battery time ... If you want to see a specific flash object just click on it. Too bad they removed the feature in Chromium 9 :( Instead you must block all sites and use a white list for site-wide exceptions.
- ndaiger 16y ago
  This bothered me too, but you can re-enable it. Put about:flags in the address bar, and at the bottom is an option for adding back the "click to play" setting.
est 16y ago
All ads are broken. Every since I started using NoScript, the page loads faster than ever.
maguay 16y ago
Flash ads are the whole reason I use FlashBlock on Chrome. I don't mind seeing ads to support sites, but asking me to let Flash hog my CPU just to see your ad is more than I can do. Plus, jumping, animated, and ads that play sounds are more than obnoxious. Also, it's amazing how HTML5 video can play smooth in HD on my netbook, yet Flash videos stutter and act like my computer is dying. All the more reason to wish Flash an early death.

39 points by jamesjyu 16y ago

Nice idea but windowless flash are also more cpu consuming, so ads would use more cpu. I wonder what's the environmental impact of a change like this would be ;) What's strange was that performance was my original thought when seeing that title, flash is breaking the web is so many ways. I'm not sure it would change anything for Chrome though, the plugin in a process seems to use the windowless model by default. I'm not sure about that, but the rendering speed while doing my experimentations with http://swiffout.com http://swiffout.com seemed to suggest that.

jamesjyu 16y ago
Yeah, Flash is just broken in many ways :) We have to weigh the performance impact against making sites simply unusable. I've seen so many times where I just can't click dropdown menus or lightbox content because Flash covers interfaces.

melling 16y ago

I uninstalled Flash on my Mac about a week ago. Wanted to see if I could reduce the fan noise and heat. The one thing that might make me reinstall is that YouTube only supports 1 in 10 videos in html5, if that.

itg 16y ago
Did the same thing. There are extensions out there that convert from flash even if youtube doesn't offer the html5 version.
slig 16y ago
Chrome now has built in support for plugins block. If you're a chrome user, you should try it.
technomancy 16y ago
I use the youtube-dl python script for that; I love not having flash installed.
riobard 16y ago
Try this if you use Safari http://www.verticalforest.com/2010/06/09/youtube5-html5-converter-for-youtube-videos/ http://www.verticalforest.com/2010/06/09/youtube5-html5-conv...
semanticist 16y ago
I've had the system Flash uninstalled on my MacBook Pro for a couple of weeks now. In cases where I really do need Flash, I open the page in Chrome. Chrome keeps its own version of Flash, and if you quit the browser once you're done with the Flash page the Flash processes won't hang around beating up your computer.
terrellm 16y ago
I too was getting tired of the fan noise, heat, and extreme CPU usage caused by Flash. While I was tempted to uninstall Flash, I thought I'd try Click to Flash (http://clicktoflash.com/ http://clicktoflash.com/) first. I've been happy with Click to Flash and appreciate having the ability to turn it on when I have to have Flash (Google Analytics, Pingdom, YouTube, Slideshare.net, Vimeo, Pandora, etc). Unfortunately, I just don't think it's possible to run without Flash and still be able to achieve the productivity some of the prior mentioned Flash-enabled websites give me.

Xuzz 16y ago

Or is it just that using Flash for ads is an abuse of the tool?

technomancy 16y ago

Actually I kind of hope people keep using flash for ads since it's so easy to avoid them by just not having it installed.

jamesjyu 16y ago
Yes, that may be the case for people who are savvy enough/willing to uninstall it. But for most people, this is not the case, and they're the ones who have to deal with the fallout.
fauigerzigerk 16y ago
I totally agree. I dread the day when animated ads move to html5. That's when I'm starting to use aggressive, indiscriminate ad blocking, something I haven't done so far out of consideration for ad funded sites I like.

willscott 16y ago

In defense of this practice, it seems like the fact that ads force themselves above everything else is quite useful in preventing click fraud. Wouldn't allowing the flash ads to have a non-window wmode make it would be much easier for malicious websites to trick visitors into clicking on ads that they weren't aware were there?

radley 16y ago

Has anyone here considered using an ad blocker instead?

lamnk 16y ago

Recently i discover Chrome's Click-to-Play flash builtin feature (you can reach it in Preferences/Under the Hood/Content Settings/Plugins). It's similar to the ClickToFlash plugins for Safari: http://clicktoflash.com http://clicktoflash.com, but it's integrated in Chrome, you don't have to install anything to use it. Disable flash really enhanced my browsing experience: pages load faster, cpu usage down, more battery time ... If you want to see a specific flash object just click on it. Too bad they removed the feature in Chromium 9 :( Instead you must block all sites and use a white list for site-wide exceptions.

ndaiger 16y ago
This bothered me too, but you can re-enable it. Put about:flags in the address bar, and at the bottom is an option for adding back the "click to play" setting.

est 16y ago

All ads are broken. Every since I started using NoScript, the page loads faster than ever.

maguay 16y ago

Flash ads are the whole reason I use FlashBlock on Chrome. I don't mind seeing ads to support sites, but asking me to let Flash hog my CPU just to see your ad is more than I can do. Plus, jumping, animated, and ads that play sounds are more than obnoxious. Also, it's amazing how HTML5 video can play smooth in HD on my netbook, yet Flash videos stutter and act like my computer is dying. All the more reason to wish Flash an early death.