A future with no Flash?

Flash & SL future is quite a popular topic. Punch flash into the forum search and you'll find all sorts of threads. And you'll note Articulate prefers to remain hush on future SL plans. I imagine due to the competitive development space

I can tell from the lack of response to my post, my question was perhaps taboo. I have seen several of those posts, and while I get holding their cards close to the vest...time is running out. In experimenting with Captivate, their claim on being responsive is not the answer either. We internally struggle with staying a purely custom development shop versus embracing tools like Articulate. As clients more and more request Articulate, I sure would like some reassurance this is the product to stuck with.

Getting an answer within an hour of a post is not nearly a lack of response in this forum, so don't read too much into that.

Search here and you will find several very lengthy threads on this topic.

I think many of us are worrying how Chrome (which has surpassed IE, Firefox and safari on desktops) is no longer supporting Flash. Plus with no mobile devices natively using Flash, business as usual won't be lasting for much longer. I think it's a legitimate, and fair worry for us all.

Thank you Rich! That is my exact concern. I think it is safe to say Google is becoming the leader in browser technology (and world domination) and how quickly they are cutting that Flash cord makes this a more immediate concern. I have state agency clients that don't have the flexibility to say, "just go use a different browser." I have corporate training clients that reaches users globally, and again access to any and all technology is not always an option. Many are now looking for responsive design solutions when developing eLearning, and products like Articulate Storyline have to start to look at how they can stay relevant.

This was not meant to be a rant, but a legitimate question and concern from director of a non-profit eLearning company wondering what options Articulate has to stay with current technology trends. And publishing for HTML 5 in its current state is not the answer, as several have said here. I find Articulate Storyline (2) to be an excellent product, and many clients have moved from our custom development to that product in an effort to save on cost, timelines and ability to update or create their own content. On the flip side I have my web and application developers saying in about 6-10 months we could be in real trouble if a new version to address these issues isn't released.

But, there's just a little bit of misinformation out there around this. If you look at google's announcement, they're merely going to block Flash by default, not cut the cord.

This means that for content not published for HTML5, it's still going to play but the user may need to click a prompt allowing the content to play.

If a company/developer has had the foresight to publish for HTML5 with Storyline then your HTML5 content will be served up automatically in Chrome, no prompt needed, which is great news.

Is the HTML5 exactly where I'd like it to be, and is all Flash functionality replicated in the HTML5 output, the answer is no, but it is peace of mind that for the most part my content is going to play and function fairly decently.

If you've been publishing and testing content with HTML5 in mind for 2-3 years now, you may actually have a pretty good idea of how your HTML5 content will play, which is good.

I don't think any of us are using this as a vent session, which is good, but we're making sure that our concerns are heard.  We're obviously fans of Articulate and Storyline, so we want to make sure our favorite tool/toy is still around for us to use! :)

Of course there's the issue that HTML5 operations exhibit much "clunkier" operations and are more likely to result in the occassional missing audio, image objects, and stuck videos. Our lives would have been much easier if Flash had remained in favor. My company has been using Presenter and Storyline for ten years, but we are starting to move toward more conventional videos because of the problems with HTML5 playback.

Do people have any examples to share of when HTML5 felt clunkier/fell short of the Flash capabilities? I'm just starting my research and understanding of Articulate's HTML5 capabilities, specifically on how it affects mobile courses, and would really appreciate any insights!

Sure, Alison. Register at www.faa-ground-school.com and you can take roughly a dozen of the lessons for free. Try them on your iPad and you may see what I'm talking about. Then go back on your laptop and compare the Flash operation. If you're really "lucky" you may see some slides that lack audio or image content that should be there. It doesn't get that bad often, but enough to generate support calls every couple of days. Very frustrating.