joshbuhler.com

As we’ve all seen, the new filters and effects in Flash Player 8 are amazing. They look good, and the fact that they don’t affect your download size by being built-in is great. However, another post from Tinic Uro explains a little on why these features haven’t been implemented in previous versions of the Flash Player, and some of the traps you can get into using these new effects.

These new features are going to turn into one of those things where “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”. They look great, and I already have a few projects that will be implementing some of them. But not all of my future projects will. Too many times I’ve seen someone find a new feature or technique, and use it everywhere just because they can. Regardless of whether or not it actually adds any benefit. Make sure that if you begin to implement all these new features, that they actually add substance to your project, and they’re not just in there to be there. And be sure that if you do implement them, that you understand the possible performance hits or other side-effects your users may encounter.

Read through his post, and when the articles he mentions he’ll be writing for DevNet are published, be sure to read those as well. Then be sure to test your new creation on more than just your machine. Go visit your Grandma, and see how it works on her computer. I’ve been involved in too many projects where the end product was only tested on high-end machines, and at launch, things broke once it got down to the end user. Hopefully, I’ve learned, but there’s still other folks out there that haven’t.

As I’ve heard said multiple times before, let’s not let this new release become the beginning of another “Skip Intro” era.

Link: Performance Traps In Flash Player 8