Zoho is an online office suite. I was interested in comments from Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu on why it is coded using Javascript rather than Flash. He gives five reasons:
- Web standards. “Flash, for all its advantages, sits in a separate space from the browser.”
- Open source libraries more widely available
- Vector graphics can be done in browsers (SVG, VML)
- Mobile support – “one word – iPhone”
- Smaller size = faster loading
Note that he is not rejecting Flash in all circumstances; he merely regards it as less suitable than Javascript for his company’s premier product and web application.
Convinced? It’s a fair case, though I suspect you could equally easily make a case for Flash, citing reasons like:
- No need to code around browser differences
- Faster code thanks to just-in-time compilation
- More consistent font rendering across different platforms and browsers
- Easier coding of complex effects and layouts
Sridhar’s most compelling point
One way of investigating further is to contrast the Flash-based Buzzword with Zoho Writer. They are very different. Zoho’s user interface is busy and cluttered by comparison, though it has some ambitious features which Buzzword lacks (Insert Layer, for example). Personally I prefer the cleaner UI. But is that really because of Flash vs Javascript, or simply the outcome of different design decisions? Zoho’s apps are like its website, too much stuff thrown at the user. I count 25 products advertised on its home page – fourteen apps, four utilities, one beta, four add-ons, two uncategorised (iZoho and Zoho in Facebook). Overwhelming.
Users don’t care about Flash vs Javascript; they care about usability and productivity.
Another twist is what happens when these apps introduce offline support. Zoho has already done so, using Google Gears, but I don’t much like the implementation. It is modal and intrusive. I want offline synch to happen seamlessly when I hit Save; it should only raise its own UI when there is a conflict. There is also the point that Adobe’s Kevin Lynch made at the Max conference last month (and no doubt elsewhere): it is counter-intuitive to open a browser, when offline, to access a web application. Adobe has AIR, and Mozilla is also working on solutions to this. But to my mind Flash has an advantage here. Think: AIR, web storage, local cache. Whoever gets this right will grab a lead in the online office wars.