Hi lewaw,
you are right, until HTML5 is defined and shows that it can compensate and/or until Silverlight hasn't picked up marketshare, for interactivity there seems to be just one valid alternative today, which is SWF (Flash).
However, SWF is indexed by Google and text in SWF can also be made "copy-able".
And I agree with you on the "heavier than HTML", though if you can achieve the same with HTML(5) one day, we still have to see how heavy that gets and whether we get all features needed.
For me personally SWF has two big flaws, one of which is the current integration into the browser: I cannot easily directly jump to a page in an SWF (with a link) and browser navigation also ignores Flash. Though it's far better than PDF for interactive media / web content in that sense.
My second point would be about the proprietary nature of SWF/FLA and the lack of a openness and missing round-trip ability.
Still, in my humble opinion currently (= mid 2010) SWF (Flash) is the best solution for interactive content on Desktop computers.
It is up to HTML5 or XPS (or whatever still to come) or the even next generation SWF to prove to be better and to be accepted by the market. As always, the market (you!) are driving this!
And luckily, as Quark doesn't own a file format, we can support all relevant
formats.
Regards
Matthias
Matthias Günther
Senior Product Manager
Quark Software Inc.(Please note: As I am traveling and do not have access to the forums, I will not be able to respond to forum posts currently.)
Want to easily publish for the iPad, using high-fidelity designs with stunning interactivity? See here: English:
http://youtu.be/Gldk5lvXXTA French:
http://youtu.be/nsgB4Q7lQzg German:
http://youtu.be/lecdenqaUGY Italian:
http://youtu.be/wjBpYZsF-8s
Need immediate help? Please contact Quark's support:
http://support.quark.com/contact_us.html