flash data integration: :frown;
An article in the http://tinyurl.com/5a4lbhttp://tinyurl.com/5a4lb talks
about "floater ads," usually done with Flash, that are so annoying that people
are uninstalling the Flash player or installing "Flash blockers" to get rid of
them.

It is precisely the near-ubiquity of the Flash player that makes it a
reasonable choice for interactive data apps. Who can afford to do their
shopping cart app in Flash or Flex if the public is turning away from, or
blocking, Flash because of these annoying ads?

I don't know what Macromedia can do to encourage the "artistes" to lose these
ads that float around the screen, but I hope they can something, because this
is going to wreck it for everybody.

I don't think we should just rely on Macromedia. Those of us who use Flash to
make real applications need to get busy and get the word out. Too many business
people are still unaware of the tremendous potential of Flash as a tool to
build serious applications with real-world advantages over other technologies.
We need to make our case to the people who make the decisions. When really
useful Flash applications become commonplace, users will not be so willing to
uninstall the player just to avoid the annoying ads; they will insist on other
methods for getting rid of the ads - or they will stop frequenting the sites
that host them.