3 ms·

Scribd is great because rather than using PDF like most browsers, it uses flash

• gaius 18y ago
  The world is still awaiting a good use for Flash. I am, I suspect, much older than most HN readers (early 30s) and I remember a thing called RTF. It amuses me to see it constantly reinvented. And not improved.
  • pclark 18y ago
    I think YouTube is the best use of Flash. Do you mean Rich Text Format? It's used by OS X a fair amount. Didn't know Microsoft invented it, neat.
    • prakash 18y ago
      microsoft also came up with XMLHttpRequest!
    • gaius 18y ago
      The point being that a standard format for documents is a solved problem and has been for years.
      • marketer 18y ago
        It's not that simple. You need a format that can represent any kind of document. Good luck trying to convert a powerpoint with complex shapes and background images into a RTF. There are only two formats that can really do that, while being viewed inside a browser - swf and images.
        • tokenadult 18y ago
          Does anyone want a PowerPoint with complex shapes and background images? http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1 http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0... http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/ http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/
          • marketer 18y ago
            Nobody is stopping you from using latex,beamer,and emacs and taking a weekend to finish your slides. But if you want something done in fifteen minutes that looks good, use powerpoint.
            • eru 18y ago
              I am faster using TeX's beamer classes than fighting Powerpoint's UI.
      • jcl 18y ago
        RTF is a good format for editable documents, but it's not such a good format for documents that need to look exactly the same on all platforms. The format that PDF actually reinvents is Postscript.
  • prakash 18y ago
    The world is still awaiting a good use for Flash. annoy everyone?
  • unalone 18y ago
    Games? Flash provides a flexible, fast format that makes game design very easy. The best-of-the-best Flash games really thrive because they're so compatible with things. Kottke mentioned an excellent one yesterday: http://www.playauditorium.com/ http://www.playauditorium.com/ That said: Flash is not meant for text. It's overkill. It's like using a tank to scare kids off your lawn.
  • briansmith 18y ago
    What about Google Finance and NY Times infographics?
  • nickb 18y ago
    The world is still awaiting a good use for Flash. I have one! Recording audio and video :)
• deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
• andr 18y ago
  ...and shows documents in a 400px-wide box, so there's space for advertisement on the side.
  • alaskamiller 18y ago
    You should be a VC.