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Thanks to a rather nasty lawsuit that Microsoft apparently lost (for big bucks), Flash applications on your Website (including menus) won't work as advertised.

Without going into the nasty tcchnical details (not that I totally understand them myself :o), apparently someone (other than Microsoft, that is) had a defensible patent on "automatic execution of Web-based ActiveX applications".

So what"?? you might ask."? Well, apparently the automatic execution of Flash objects (including Flash movies and menus) depend upon this feature."? Now, as part of the settlement, Microsoft has disabled this feature in one of the latest updates to Internet Explorer."? This means that if you have a Web site that depends upon the auto-play of Flash objects (such as menus) then your visitors must first hover over the object and then click to activate it before it can be used.

Needless to say this is *not* what most Website owners want to see in terms of user friendliness!"? What to do"?? Suggest you talk to your Web designer / developer to see if a) this affects you in any way, and b) if so, have them use a work around (typically requiring the use of Java).

This is another case of one small company getting (very) rich while we pay for it."? Not saying that rightful owners of intellectual property shouldn't be compensated, but clearly there needs to be some more thought given at the Patent Office as to what is appropriate or not.

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August 9, 2007 by Michael Russer
Michael- This is Steve Zehngut, Chief Technology Officer at Real Estate Shows (http://www.realestateshows.com). Thank you so much for posting this to your blog. Our product is Flash based, so we immediately took note when we first heard about this in the news. We were able to fix this issue in just 1/2 day and none of our customers experienced this problem. The fix involves implementing a simple Javascript workaround that is well documented on Adobe's site: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/activecontent/articles/devletter.html I would respectfully offer one constructive suggestion: thoughtfully title your future postings. A newbie might read “Using FLASH? --Not So Fast!” and quickly conclude that, “Flash is bad.” A good program, when used properly, is given a bad rap and all those who might benefit from it are misled. I have always told my clients and my students that there is a right and a wrong place to use technologies like Flash. Many amateur website developers inappropriately use technologies like Flash as eye candy. I often visit sites where the entire interface or the main navigation has been developed in Flash. That’s the wrong use of the technology. Flash is a great application and it really shines (IMHO) on destination pages, like our shows. I’d be pleased to continue our dialog. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts and comments. -Steve steve@realestateshows.com
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August 9, 2007 by Michael Russer
What do you think about the recent blackberry battle about IP? Is it valid and what impact will it have on the wireless email business?
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