Microsoft to release a FlashKiller!

[h88]

http://www.atnewyork.com/news/article.php/3104381

Come on, now isn't this ridiculous? Imagine being able to edit .SWFs and .FLAs!! or view .SWF using their "flashkiller"..

What do you guys think? Is it likely that MS would release it in the upcoming Longhorn OS?

Although the article is old, Longhorn is a new OS to be released at the first quarter of 2006 or so

[B3NKobe]

Firstly have to say that I wouldnt use this software if released and would stay true Macromedia & Adobe kid. I cant beleive that Microsoft is trying to take more MARKET share away from other companies, Microsoft is 'pathetic' at creating multimedia software! I mean look at Microsoft Frontpage, it just lacks everything! Microsoft produce OS software and they SHOULD stick with that (oh did i mention also xbox stay with that) but as far as copying another companies software such as this 'Flash Killer' I think its just another pathetic way of Big Billy Gates! I dont think theyll release it in the upcoming 'Longhorn OS' but it will be released soon after it.

The next thing ill end up hearing about is Microsoft creating 'MASA' to compete with NASA! Piss Off Microsoft, and just design your OS systems and Xbox!

[kirupa]

More power to MS - competition is a good thing, and Macromedia, by opening up the SWF format, pretty much knew that other companies would try to make products based on SWF. Microsoft LiquidMotion done a few years ago was pretty good for Flash-like DHTML animations, and it ended up being integrated into their popular Visio line of products.

Oh, I disagree about your opinion on FrontPage! The entire kirupa.com site is done entirely in FrontPage. It's not FrontPage's fault that the average user of its program goes crazy on the themes feature. Also, I have yet to find a better, simple image editor than MS Image Composer. MS Picture It! was great for amateur photographers, and Windows Movie Maker 2 is one of the better free movie editors.

The Windows Media Encoder is both free and simple to use when wanting to convert files into the WMV/WMA format also.

MS makes great multimedia software, and they target average home users - hence their significantly cheaper/free price tag. Not everyone can afford to pay $500 for an animation software. I'm sure you all enjoy paying exorbitant prices for Adobe and MM products, and unless another company breaks into the MM/Adobe grip on design, prices are only going to go higher ;)

:sailor:

[Jasninder]

softwares to convert swf to fla's are already available allover, those with ethics and principles will never use such a thing...its the respect for another designer and his work but for wana be hotshot designers its their easy way up, i guess microsoft realize that and ofcoz as any businessman would do, target them ;)

[prstudio]

I agree with you as always K-man. I use frontpage for tables and quick coloring - that's about it - just delete the 3 lines of meta information thats harmless anyways if it really bothers you. I actually find frontpage to be better than dreamweaver. Dreamweaver does it all for you...I use notepad to form my database connections.

Competition is good.

[B3NKobe]

Hmm im out numbered on my opinion http://kirupaforum.com/forums/images/smilies/cry.gif, its just my tough stance against microsoft http://kirupaforum.com/forums/images/smilies/square.gif. But Kirupa your point was pretty good, and I know i mocked FrontPage (but i do use it sometimes too http://kirupaforum.com/forums/images/smilies/hurt.gifhttp://kirupaforum.com/forums/images/smilies/hurt.gif).

[RabBell]

somebody told me a while ago that after releasing and the failure of Breeze Macromedia was in serious trouble and a large percentage of the company was bought by...Microsoft.

Is this true and if it is then why would Gates Inc. help out the competition :h:

by the way Frontpage Sucks, Dreamweaver Rules :party: ;)...

[Butters]

I would never switch from Macromedia to Microsoft, I hate Microsoft with a passion.

I personally thought FrontPage was terrible, so I don't expect any better with their 'Flash Killer'.

I love Macromedia and Adobe, and wouldent change them, especially not for a company such as Micro$oft :)

[eyezberg]

Why does everyone hate Microsoft, I always wondered..?
Where would we all be (well, 90something %) without Windows?
Only thing I really want/need MS to do is integrate a preview for swf files, like for pictures and video, into explorer!!!!

[ContinuumXLS]

Why does everyone hate Microsoft, I always wondered..?
same here...

Is it because their OS's sre buggy? Well, most of those security holes came from people that didnt update their system at all and left themselves out in the open...microsoft had to pick up the slack for them.

As for the "flashkiller", i would give it a look and see how it turns out.

[mlk]

same here...

Is it because their OS's sre buggy? Well, most of those security holes came from people that didnt update their system at all and left themselves out in the open...microsoft had to pick up the slack for them.

As for the "flashkiller", i would give it a look and see how it turns out.

People (well me at least) are pissed because Microsoft just hold the monopoly without giving a real $hit about upgrading or improving their OS... Look at the improvements to IE for exemple (which are scarce)... They don't put the necessary work that should make windows an even greater OS...

[Butters]

If they really cared about their users (and not just their money), they would try and stop adware and spam coming through via IE. I just open it and I get like 20 pop-ups, not to mention those stupid toolbars that you cant get rid of. I don't have any of that sh*t with Firefox.

Don't tell me to get an adware blocker, iv tried several and they don't work, I just dont use IE, seemed to fix all my adware crap (well most of it anyway, you can't be 100% adware free on a PC if you have the internet).

[kirupa]

My PC has no ads, no annoying bars, and I use IE 24/7, and I click on every link people IM me ;) I have adaware, and the most it finds are stray tracking cookies. I don't even have a firewall enabled. You can't blame MS for user error or people who visit sites with trojans and spyware on them. SP2 XP/IE are much better in terms of security than earlier versions!

[UNFLUX]

considering the number of decompilers out there, it's not really that big of a deal is it? You're already at risk as it is of someone using your flash files as their own, for whatever reason. I don't think this is that big of a deal really. It's just one more thing MS tries to integrate into windows. *shrug - nothing wrong with that

quickly on FP, I actually learned HTML and how to design using FP and tell anyone that asks. I'm not embarrassed by it all. I don't use it any more, but I certainly wouldn't be where I am without it. And Kirupa is dead on when he says it's not FP's fault. You can't blame FP for poorly made sites, just like you can't blame Photoshop for poorly made designs, or flash for poorly made animations.

[Coppertop]

Kman - Couldn't have said it better myself :pleased: Easy thing to remember when using Microsoft products: PEBKAC. Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair!

Microsoft :party:

Anyway, competition is a good thing. Especially from such a powerful adversary. Nothing motivates like competition.

[boua5828]

I think Microsoft does make some really good products. XP is a great OS, and I love my Windows Media Player. There are some security problems with Windows, and IE (especially 5.2 for Mac) is a piece of junk compared to Firefox, but when I think about where we'd all be without Microsoft it makes me cringe. If Apple had beat Microsoft in the race to the top, it'd be Steve Jobs that everyone hates.

I do agree that Microsoft seems to get a little carried away by tapping into new markets all the time, but this provides healthy cometition. This forces all the companies in a given market to develop better products.

As far as design and coding tools go, I will hold fast to my Macromedia and Adobe products. They offer the best tools for this type of work. I have no personal experience with FrontPage, but know plenty of web designers who hate Dreamweaver. They'd rather use notepad. It's whatever you prefer. This said, I am not likely to start using something other than Flash anytime soon.

[hl]

I hate Microsoft (period), but I have to use it anyway. If you notice, MAC has become better and now measures up higher then Microsoft. MS is frequently the one who crashes... while the poor old MAC is neglected. Er yeah...
I know that might not have made any sense... use your imagination.

Next part of the discussion...
I don't like FP... not because I don't like Microsoft, but because I don't like WYIWYG editor type things. I like manually coding because... it's simple anyway... why spend 200 dollars on something that can be learned in a matter of minutes... and only take a couple more minutes then the program. I know most of you can type pretty fast, noticing how long you are on the computer... I am on 60wpm. I know you can beat it... so do the right thing... open Notepad!

The first part that was otherwise forgotten in this post....
FlashKiller... :( That is no respect to webdesigners... all Microsoft will get is a ****load of people stealing others flashes... but who knows, maybe it doesn't capture the scripting, etc. Maybe it just inserts the flash into a flash document 0.0

Okay... post over... I am sick of typing with proper capitalization and terrible grammer.

[B3NKobe]

My PC has no ads, no annoying bars, and I use IE 24/7, and I click on every link people IM me ;) I have adaware, and the most it finds are stray tracking cookies. I don't even have a firewall enabled. You can't blame MS for user error or people who visit sites with trojans and spyware on them. SP2 XP/IE are much better in terms of security than earlier versions!
Agreed with Kirupa, I hardly ever get spyware / adaware through onto my system. Iv got Windows XP SP2 installed, use firefox and have Spybot & Adware. Everynow and then they pick up 1 things but thats useally because i havnt downloaded the update defiinitions...

[Coppertop]

I hate Microsoft (period), but I have to use it anyway. If you notice, MAC has become better and now measures up higher then Microsoft. MS is frequently the one who crashes... while the poor old MAC is neglected. Er yeah...
I know that might not have made any sense... use your imagination.

What did I tell you people about dealing with Microsoft? PEBKAC! PEBKAC PEBKAC PEBKAC! ;)

[Disco-Stu]

I hate Microsoft (period), but I have to use it anyway. If you notice, MAC has become better and now measures up higher then Microsoft. MS is frequently the one who crashes... while the poor old MAC is neglected. Er yeah...
I know that might not have made any sense... use your imagination.


Try writing an OS for every possible combination of hardware, and I'm sure you'll have some issues too. Mac's only work because it's proprietary hardware. The OS is custom made to work with the exact same hardware. You don't hear of someone buying a new motherboard to fit in their mac. Microsoft may have some shortcomings (**** you SP2 and your annoying security messages! I do IT for 50+ computers at my office, and SP2 is a headache) but good lord, look at the amount of software and configurations it can handle. The driver handling arhitecture is astonishing. If you want to "stick it to the man", then waste your money on an overpriced Mac. Otherwise, bite the bullet and realize that you're **** lucky to have a standardized OS for the vast array of hardware out there. Otherwise it would be like the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube wars, with millions of proprietary solutions that all had advantages and disadvantages.

[Butters]

My PC has no ads, no annoying bars, and I use IE 24/7, and I click on every link people IM me ;) I have adaware, and the most it finds are stray tracking cookies. I don't even have a firewall enabled. You can't blame MS for user error or people who visit sites with trojans and spyware on them. SP2 XP/IE are much better in terms of security than earlier versions!
That's wierd, I barely every use IE, and if I open it (which I occationally do), I get swamped in pop-ups. When im finaly able to get back to the browser (assuming it hasent crashed), it's got some ****ty spam homepage set (which I didn't set myself) and has about 3/4 toolbars which I can't remove. I have a Firewall, as well as 6-10 types of adware/pop-up blockers.

Im using SP1, maybe I should upgrade to SP2.

[Coppertop]

again, Disco stu you've spoken the words I wished to say but could not think up. You are a brilliant man.

Butters: Well, one thing that my dad told me from his experience as an engineer is: If to many people give you the wrong answer, you're asking the wrong question. In this, since we're not having problems, it's almost certainly you. I'm running SP1, and am toolbar, spampage, and popup free. This would lend it's self to the appearance that you either a) don't know how to avoid these problems b) don't know how to fix them if and when they happen or c) all the above.

Lets start with the basics. Virus scan. Try avg (download) and/or trendMicro housecall and Bitdefender (find them on google. they're web based, so you don't need to download anything - but it takes a while. I have about 110gb to scan, and it takes about 2½ hours each) when you're done that then go over it with AdAware, SpyBot, and SpySweeper. That's all you need. When you're done, uninstall adaware and spybot. Leave spysweeper, because it has a sheild against these things (the sheild is better if you actually go out and buy it. I plan on doing so.) When that's all over, give your computer a manual once over to make sure it didn't miss anything.

also, for popup blocking, sp2 (provided you can get it to work) builds one into IE or what I use: Pop-Up stopper free edition. It gets almost everything. (misses one or two) or, if you can find it "Stop-the-pop-up" Is a really aggressive (hell, it's so aggresive you can't open a browser window normally without holding down the ctrl key)

[dreeft]

FlashKiller is such an angry name... couldn't they have called it something friendlier? ;D

[Neil]

Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate MICROSOFT !!!!!!! Period. Here is the thing. Microsoft only cares about money and they dont have upgrades !. Look @ SP2 ! wtf is that ? lol. I downloaded once and I installed it. I could'nt get my games to work ! and that stupid stupid firewall option in control panel.OMG, i hate microsoft :scream: ytf people use Front Page? I dont even wanna know any products by microsoft. They update office every year, just for the heck of it (and to earn money $$$). Look @ their free installed browser !. I used IE um... :sigh: ....like 64 years ago ;). Firefox rulez ! Some one mentioned ( i think kirupa) that I am using IE 24/7 and it doesnt have any pop ups (unless you visit some crappy websites). But on the other hand, no matter what website you open with firefox (****, warez, cracks, illegal stuff, free web hosting services, gain networks, no matter what), firefox blocks all the crap! I LOVE IT !. I often wonder why the hell do you need a freakin adaware or stuff like that? get firefox here ! (http://www.firefox.com) .

Be cool, use firefox :P . Also, Macromedia and Adobe owns !!!!!!!! No question about it !. I am sure, if microsoft can crack swfs, then macromedia will come up with another better format :)

[kirupa]

macromedia made their SWF format open a while ago! MS only has to work as hard to "crack" the SWF code as going to macromedia's site and downloading the tools for creating SWF-format files ;)

We all know that Adobe and Macromedia aren't interested in making money...

butters - if your comp is already having so many problems, you may want to format before considering installing XP SP2.

Neil - that had to be single most confusing run-on sentence I have ever read. I'm still trying to figure out what you actually said :P

[prstudio]

btw fireworks doesnt block all of it...it will still install some stuff but you won't notice if because you aren't using i.e. - it's still there for the most part.

[Mik3]

Microsoft makes terrible software. Stick with third party...

[altermanjw]

If they really cared about their users (and not just their money), they would try and stop adware and spam coming through via IE. I just open it and I get like 20 pop-ups, not to mention those stupid toolbars that you cant get rid of. I don't have any of that sh*t with Firefox.

Don't tell me to get an adware blocker, iv tried several and they don't work, I just dont use IE, seemed to fix all my adware crap (well most of it anyway, you can't be 100% adware free on a PC if you have the internet).


Same here, i did the format/reinstall before installing the SP2 then i have Adaware With Ad-watch, and NAV worm protection, yet i open IE and i got a thousand popups out of nowhere...

[Vexir]

I love Microsoft simply because I love the computing world today and without Microsoft, today's computing world would be entirely different.

If any of you experience slowing of performance after installing SP2, I HAVE FOUND A A WAY AROUND!

Slipstream it. Thats right, download the IT professionals version, take your WIN XP reinstall disc with SP1 or whatever installed, and go ahead and take an ISO. Then simply slipstream the SP2 files (update the files back into the ISO) and then burn to CD-R. Format, then install.


Smooth as a baby's ***.

[RelandR]

:huh:

it's name is actually **sparkle** :sure:
it's only inferred that it would potentially be - a - "flashkiller"... ( and director 'killer' )... if it could accomplish similar feats and be more readily (free perhaps ?) available.

and unless I missed something in that article, nowhere does it claim that it would create flash animations per~se, but rather it would create "... flash-like animations ..." , so , it is not necessarily a rip of MM's format.

[hl]

sp2 killed one of our computers... thats when i invented 2 theories...

this is what happened... i updated it to sp2... etc etc., then it started to become EXTREMELY slow... now it takes about an hour to open one thing.. its 3 ghz for crying out loud... the theories i created was as i watched it crash... these are my exact words as i was staring blankly and the screen :crazy: oh and by the way... my dad was watching the news and they were talking about the stock market :-P enjoy

"*Sigh* The only reason the stock market crashes is because god gave it microsoft."

then someone said god da** somewhere out side... and so i said "The reason man invented the words god da** is because god gave it Microsoft"

:P

[garyzero]

who cares, know one will use it. but if they do, who cares, maybe it will be better?

[λ]

Try writing an OS for every possible combination of hardware, and I'm sure you'll have some issues too. Mac's only work because it's proprietary hardware. The OS is custom made to work with the exact same hardware. You don't hear of someone buying a new motherboard to fit in their mac. Microsoft may have some shortcomings (**** you SP2 and your annoying security messages! I do IT for 50+ computers at my office, and SP2 is a headache) but good lord, look at the amount of software and configurations it can handle. The driver handling arhitecture is astonishing. If you want to "stick it to the man", then waste your money on an overpriced Mac. Otherwise, bite the bullet and realize that you're **** lucky to have a standardized OS for the vast array of hardware out there. Otherwise it would be like the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube wars, with millions of proprietary solutions that all had advantages and disadvantages.
Microsoft has it easy. Linux has to work with PowerPC, x86, alpha.. all of them :P

Competition is always a good thing, is what I say.. (and I hate micro$oft with an absolute passion)

[Butters]

again, Disco stu you've spoken the words I wished to say but could not think up. You are a brilliant man.

Butters: Well, one thing that my dad told me from his experience as an engineer is: If to many people give you the wrong answer, you're asking the wrong question. In this, since we're not having problems, it's almost certainly you. I'm running SP1, and am toolbar, spampage, and popup free. This would lend it's self to the appearance that you either a) don't know how to avoid these problems b) don't know how to fix them if and when they happen or c) all the above.

Lets start with the basics. Virus scan. Try avg (download) and/or trendMicro housecall and Bitdefender (find them on google. they're web based, so you don't need to download anything - but it takes a while. I have about 110gb to scan, and it takes about 2½ hours each) when you're done that then go over it with AdAware, SpyBot, and SpySweeper. That's all you need. When you're done, uninstall adaware and spybot. Leave spysweeper, because it has a sheild against these things (the sheild is better if you actually go out and buy it. I plan on doing so.) When that's all over, give your computer a manual once over to make sure it didn't miss anything.

also, for popup blocking, sp2 (provided you can get it to work) builds one into IE or what I use: Pop-Up stopper free edition. It gets almost everything. (misses one or two) or, if you can find it "Stop-the-pop-up" Is a really aggressive (hell, it's so aggresive you can't open a browser window normally without holding down the ctrl key)

I do regularly scan for viruses, I use adware blockers and sweepers. I have a firewall, and I dont go onto sites that are teeming with adware, but somehow it gets to my computer.

You shouldent need to do all this sweeping and scanning crap that takes hours, Windows should have been designed better.

[Neil]

The Companies I love the most :) :

Note: I like Microsoft company slogan or whatever...its "Your Potential, our Passion" :thumb: good one by Microsoft :). I also like their ad campaigns and stuff.

The best companies in the world (my opinion) :

SONY : It simply rulez ! Like No Other !!! :p:

Macromedia : I would'nt be here on Kirupaforums without flash :beard:

Adobe: Simply great !!!

Logitech: amazing gadgets :cyborg:

Sun Microsytems : Heard that its a big company, but no technical knowhow :puzzled:

Google: I would never find myself without goooooogle =)

Nike: Just do it ! :cap:

Intel : Powered by Intel P4 processor :battery:

Alias: Pretty Hard core stuff like Maya :h:

EA and many other game companies :)



I cant remember any others, except industrial companies and Car makers like umm....EDS !, Mercedes-Benz , blah blah blah.....

PS - I am obssesed with companies like levitated.net and bit-101 :P

:ninja: Neil

[Krilnon]

Sun does a lot of stuff. They have their own operating system (Solaris) and they also make Java.

[eyezberg]

You shouldent need to do all this sweeping and scanning crap that takes hours, Windows should have been designed better.
No, the idiots writing the hacks, virii, spam tools etc should get a life and do something usefull instead of annoying.
Always used IE, Googlebar + SP2 block all pop-ups, Norton blocks the rest, never any problems..

[Butters]

If Windows was more secure, it would be harder for 'the idiots writing the hacks, virii...' to write all their crap.

[kirupa]

If you were a smart hacker, would you waste your time on an OS that barely has about 5% of the market?

No system is unhackable or truly 100% secure, and I'm willing to bet my prettiest left pinky that if a 3rd party OS had 95% market share comprised of users ranging from those who are computer literate to those who are computer illiterate, that OS would be exploited also.

Also, I don't recall a time when MS did not offer a quick patch for a security hole that was found - probably weeks before people got exploited. It's not MS's fault people don't keep their system up to date via WinUpdate.

[Byrnzie]

If you were a smart hacker, would you waste your time on an OS that barely has about 5% of the market?

No system is unhackable or truly 100% secure, and I'm willing to bet my prettiest left pinky that if a 3rd party OS had 95% market share comprised of users ranging from those who are computer literate to those who are computer illiterate, that OS would be exploited also.

Also, I don't recall a time when MS did not offer a quick patch for a security hole that was found - probably weeks before people got exploited. It's not MS's fault people don't keep their system up to date via WinUpdate.

too right there, the only reason people target microsoft is because alot of people use it.

also if a '3rd- party' developer had 95% market share, they wouldn't realy be '3rd party', microsoft would be a '3rd party'.

----
in regard to viruses, and pop-ups/ i've had my computer for a couple of years now and i have only had one virus (w32.yaha.k or somethignlike that) which my sister downloaded from hotmail (last time she used my computer, the only reason norton didn't get it was because its subscription had run out and 2 weeks earlier and i hadn't had the time to update it) . I hardly ever get adware or stuff like that on my computer i scan it reguraly and keep norton up to date (start a full system scan every friday night, before i go to bed). the only time i get anoying pop-ups and that is when some sites i vist have them and the best way to stop them is to close down IE using task manager, which i keep open all the time.

Also macs arent virus free, at my school some stupid yr9 student downlaoded one and installed it through out the system, too bad it forced a format of the server and my IT class lost some of our work (me and a group of friends did however keep backups on local scratch disks, or on hard drives of the workshop pc's which we use to 'learn' how to build computers -not suposed to store stuff in either of those places).

[morse]

Oh, I disagree about your opinion on FrontPage! The entire kirupa.com site is done entirely in FrontPage.
Except for the forums, which run on and are programmed in Linux software ;)

[kirupa]

Except for the forums, which run on and are programmed in Linux software ;)Well, the forums are kirupaforum.com hehe. That will be changing in a few weeks when I switch it to forums.kirupa.com.

[alzor]

Im happy enough having windows freeze on me 15 times an hour...now there going to "kill" an awesome dev tool I use to make games too? oh wow! what new previously thought impossible inconvenience can this "flash killer" inflict upon me accidentally kick me in the nuts every now and then?or maybe shove my face into a woodchipper via a new programming bug?boy I cant wait!

[evileks]

My PC has no ads, no annoying bars, and I use IE 24/7, and I click on every link people IM me ;) I have adaware, and the most it finds are stray tracking cookies. I don't even have a firewall enabled. You can't blame MS for user error or people who visit sites with trojans and spyware on them. SP2 XP/IE are much better in terms of security than earlier versions!

I agree with Kirupa on this, I am using firefox, but I might go back to IE if it weren't for firefox's tabbed web browsing. I never got any toolbars that were hard to remove, and I run adaware and spybot enough to pick up anything that might ever come through.

Is there a setting I can change with FF so that I can edit source code? When I go to View page source I can't edit it!! If I can't change this I might just stop using firefox.

[GW02]

You DO know, however, that you just ressurected a 4-month old topic, right?

[3d Nirvana]

what is with the resurections lately?

[B3NKobe]

I agree with Kirupa on this, I am using firefox, but I might go back to IE if it weren't for firefox's tabbed web browsing. I never got any toolbars that were hard to remove, and I run adaware and spybot enough to pick up anything that might ever come through.

Im the same on that one also :D:D -- Only switched to FF for tabbed browsing :D

[GW02]

what is with the resurections lately?

I think most of them are alzor. Poor guy probably doesn't realize he's doing it.

[SlowRoasted]

microsoft has some hostile tactics but take an econ class and you will find out that competition is a good thing. It will cause macromedia to step up their game to another level to compete and probably will drive prices down. The consumer does not lose hehe.

[trundrumbalind]

If they really cared about their users (and not just their money), they would try and stop adware and spam coming through via IE. I just open it and I get like 20 pop-ups, not to mention those stupid toolbars that you cant get rid of. I don't have any of that sh*t with Firefox.
If you're on a PC, you wouldn't even be able to RUN Firefox without Windows!

[SlowRoasted]

Originally Posted by Butters
If they really cared about their users (and not just their money), they would try and stop adware and spam coming through via IE. I just open it and I get like 20 pop-ups, not to mention those stupid toolbars that you cant get rid of. I don't have any of that sh*t with Firefox.

i thought there was a pop up blocker and it doesnt take a genious to remove a toolbar.