CNET reports that Macromedia announced a partnership with Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen to develop guidelines for developing Flash-based applications.
Nielson has been a harsh critic of Flash and rightfully so. Back in March when Flash MX was released I wrote "Unfortunately most graphic designers I know seem to lack the common sense to save their artistic ambitions for the gallery and not my screen when I'm trying to get something useful done. I wish there were a standard to do something about that." I'm pleased to read that in some sense it will.
When Macromedia released this latest version of Flash, they raised the ire of standards and open source advocates alike for suggesting that web sites be designed entirely in Flash and not supporting related open standards such as SVG and SMIL. I weighed in that there is a growing need for a "standard" lightweight environment for developing and delivering applications and that Flash MX attempts to address it. Whether Flash is the best or right solution to addressing this need is open to conjecture.
The Web browser serves its purposes as a very useful and vital tool to making the Internet work, but it's an awkward way to deliver true application functionality. In mobile computing where function is valued over content, we've already seen the general failure of browser-based solutions (WAP) and rising interest in J2ME applications. This is why I'm convinced that an application-centric "browser" is needed to best utilize the emergence of the programmable Internet via Web services and advance the function of the Web as we know it.
