Comments on: The Fix for the Patch.. I say NO! http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/ Geoff Gaudreault's Flash weblog and source files archive. Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:11:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Matt http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-771 Matt Tue, 25 Apr 2006 12:43:31 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-771 I agree that this javascript fix is backwards thinking. However, there are already people who are capitalizing on this stupid fix, making software to create the code. Do you have an alternative/better way to apply a fix that will still work in IE? Thanks. I agree that this javascript fix is backwards thinking.
However, there are already people who are capitalizing
on this stupid fix, making software to create the code.

Do you have an alternative/better way to apply a fix
that will still work in IE?

Thanks.

]]> By: Internet http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-596 Internet Sun, 16 Apr 2006 04:10:09 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-596 Thanks for the information! I've been looking all over for an answer to this problem. Thanks for the information! I’ve been looking all over for an answer to this problem.

]]> By: MOLOKO http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-579 MOLOKO Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:07:50 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-579 I don't think it's a 'hack' at all. Personally I've always used JavaScript to write out the flash object because it lets me do it in two lines of JavaScript instead of many lines of HTML - and also helps to eliminate possible bugs that can creep in due to updating a value in the OBJECT tag then forgetting to do it in the EMBED tag. I also don't think that 'it relies on having JavaScript turned on' is a convincing argument - it's easy enough to set up your code in such a way that it warns the user if they're got JavaScript switched off and tells them they need it switched. Your comment about search engines is very valid though, although I'm sure there must be other ways of ensuring a search engine can index your content. What winds me up about all this is that the EOLAS patent only applies in the USA - yet Microsoft's response to it affects users and developers all over the world. Only users in the States should be obliged to apply the patch - maybe then americans will realise how stupid software patents are and stop using them! I don’t think it’s a ‘hack’ at all. Personally I’ve always used JavaScript to write out the flash object because it lets me do it in two lines of JavaScript instead of many lines of HTML - and also helps to eliminate possible bugs that can creep in due to updating a value in the OBJECT tag then forgetting to do it in the EMBED tag.

I also don’t think that ‘it relies on having JavaScript turned on’ is a convincing argument - it’s easy enough to set up your code in such a way that it warns the user if they’re got JavaScript switched off and tells them they need it switched.

Your comment about search engines is very valid though, although I’m sure there must be other ways of ensuring a search engine can index your content.

What winds me up about all this is that the EOLAS patent only applies in the USA - yet Microsoft’s response to it affects users and developers all over the world. Only users in the States should be obliged to apply the patch - maybe then americans will realise how stupid software patents are and stop using them!

]]> By: bunnyhero http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-380 bunnyhero Sun, 12 Mar 2006 18:12:42 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-380 another positive vote for flashobject from me! it's too bad embed got deprecated, because it's still the tag that is most reliably and consistently rendered across browsers and platforms. another positive vote for flashobject from me!

it’s too bad embed got deprecated, because it’s still the tag that is most reliably and consistently rendered across browsers and platforms.

]]> By: John Giotta http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-366 John Giotta Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:48:25 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-366 I'm sorry, but I absolutely love FlashObject and since I started using it last year all my applications are now completely unaffected by this patch. http://osflash.org/flashobject I’m sorry, but I absolutely love FlashObject and since I started using it last year all my applications are now completely unaffected by this patch. http://osflash.org/flashobject

]]> By: mike http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-365 mike Fri, 10 Mar 2006 02:29:20 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-365 I'm with you on this one.. I don't like the hack at all.. but.. I'll probably cave in and use it on my pages rather than punish the users for a problem that Microsoft created. hmm.. maybe I should add something in the doc.write so a message is displayed for IE users. Or better yet, send them to a random page on Microsoft.com. Let's see them find something useful on that site. I’m with you on this one.. I don’t like the hack at all.. but.. I’ll probably cave in and use it on my pages rather than punish the users for a problem that Microsoft created. hmm.. maybe I should add something in the doc.write so a message is displayed for IE users. Or better yet, send them to a random page on Microsoft.com. Let’s see them find something useful on that site.

]]> By: John Dowdell http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-364 John Dowdell Fri, 10 Mar 2006 02:04:25 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-364 <em>"We are going back to W3C standards as Object and Embed were never part of HTML to begin with."</em> They actually were. The spec was, in my opinion at the time and now, in error in not advising how the world could migrate to their new platonic ideal. (The spec outlawed EMBED many years after it was in realworld use, and when I asked on web-standards lists in the late 90s "how will we migrate?" I could never pull a reply.) That's an interesting point, about "How will search engines react to the JavaScript document.write which the patent requires?" My first take is that bodytext is overrated as a search qualifier anyway... usually it's the inbound links which determine things (cf "Googlebombing"), and after that the TITLE, metadata and other standard qualifiers which play more of a role than bodytext. But it's an interesting question you raise here, one I hadn't heard before, and I'd like to think on it some more.... (Yes, JAWS and WindowEyez do understand dynamically-added content... Andrew Kirkpatrick tested results <a href="http://weblogs.macromedia.com/accessibility/archives/2005/08/in_search_of_a.cfm" rel="nofollow">here</a>.) “We are going back to W3C standards as Object and Embed were never part of HTML to begin with.”

They actually were. The spec was, in my opinion at the time and now, in error in not advising how the world could migrate to their new platonic ideal. (The spec outlawed EMBED many years after it was in realworld use, and when I asked on web-standards lists in the late 90s “how will we migrate?” I could never pull a reply.)

That’s an interesting point, about “How will search engines react to the JavaScript document.write which the patent requires?” My first take is that bodytext is overrated as a search qualifier anyway… usually it’s the inbound links which determine things (cf “Googlebombing”), and after that the TITLE, metadata and other standard qualifiers which play more of a role than bodytext. But it’s an interesting question you raise here, one I hadn’t heard before, and I’d like to think on it some more….

(Yes, JAWS and WindowEyez do understand dynamically-added content… Andrew Kirkpatrick tested results here.)

]]> By: Josh http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-363 Josh Fri, 10 Mar 2006 01:07:33 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-363 HERE HERE!!! Couldn't have said it better myself. HERE HERE!!! Couldn’t have said it better myself.

]]> By: MK http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-362 MK Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:45:28 +0000 http://www.neurofuzzy.net/2006/03/09/the-fix-for-the-patch-i-say-no/#comment-362 We are going back to W3C standards as Object and Embed were never part of HTML to begin with. Simply using doc.write doesn't solve the problem anyway. You still have to call that file w/ doc.write via an external .js or some other way. Having inline doc.writes still makes the patch affect your flash. This is with my testing,anyway. I'm using the FlashOject that is going around becuase it is xhtml, css compliant etc.. and allows for your alt content to get spidered by the search engines. We are going back to W3C standards as Object and Embed were never part of HTML to begin with. Simply using doc.write doesn’t solve the problem anyway. You still have to call that file w/ doc.write via an external .js or some other way. Having inline doc.writes still makes the patch affect your flash. This is with my testing,anyway. I’m using the FlashOject that is going around becuase it is xhtml, css compliant etc.. and allows for your alt content to get spidered by the search engines.

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