I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned Picnik before. I got a reminder this evening about updating my expired credit card (for my annual premium). So, I visited the site. I hadn’t been in probably six months.
I know they use Flex to build the site (which is what we use for Mockingbird). I haven’t read anything about what specifically they do (though, I’m about to go googling that after I post this). Whatever they’re doing, it’s silky smooth.
For all those folks that say “why do we need Flash on the web?” send them to Picnik. They’ll tell you that you can do most of that stuff in JavaScript (not anywhere as smoothly with most web browsers). They’ll argue that an app like that should be native — except that if it was the development cost would have been significantly higher and it would be functionally less useful for users who use multiple machines. The point is that Picnik was made in Flex, by incredibly talented designers and developers, and it was not made in those other environments. There are clearly advantages to the Flash platform that don’t exist elsewhere, and those advantages are critical for the right application. Best tool for the job.
I know we made the right decision with Mockingbird (to have it built on Flash). I may be tempted at times by the extra horsepower others may offer — but in the end, the Flash development environment and distribution platform is a warm, comfortable embrace.