WebfeedWith all the uproar over Apple’s refusal to allow Adobe Flash on their iPhones, iPods, and iPads, it’s easy to overlook the plight of everyday people having to suffer with Flash’s bullshit on a daily basis. Thursday night I received a notice that Adobe’s Creative Suit 5 (the most important software package in the universe for anybody in design) was available for customers to download. This is a singularly awesome event, marred by the fact that Adobe is eating their own dog food and using Flash to power their online store.
Here’s what I get when I follow the link to my account for the download…
Some inexplicable error has popped up which even Adobe’s own system doesn’t know how to deal with, giving a blank message box where my only option is to be “OK” with the problem. After that, I get this…
Just think of how much easier this would be if Adobe would have just provided a download link on their site and emailed me my serial number. But nooooooo… they have to shoehorn Flash into the mix, adding unnecessary complications and problems to what should be a straightforward process. After 15 minutes of failed attempts, I eventually moved to a different machine where the downloads miraculously proceeded without incident. What’s wrong with my laptop that it won’t work? Who knows.
I understand that there are areas where Flash is a necessity, and it would be difficult (or impossible) to implement them without using it (games being a good example). But I will never understand choosing to use Flash for tasks that can be handled without it. Flash for the sake of Flash is just senseless… even for Adobe. The chance of things going terribly wrong are too great to justify the risk.
