Adding Behaviors and Rich Media - New Perspectives on Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, Comprehensive - page 409

Figure 7-18 Pros and cons of using Shockwave

Pros Cons

Shockwave files are less dependent on the pro-
cessing speed of the end user's computer for
playback speed.

As of December 2009, only 52.0 percent of users
have the Shockwave Player plug-in (Shockwave
has a 52 percent browser penetration).

Shockwave movies tend to process complex code
faster than Flash movies.

The Shockwave Player plug-in is not included with
the latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer
and Mozilla Firefox; it must be downloaded by the
end user.

Shockwave movies can display a wide range of
media formats.

Shockwave file size might be larger than Flash files
because the files are pre-rendered.

Shockwave movies look the same across brows-
ers and across platforms.
You can use any font within a Shockwave movie
because Shockwave is not dependent on the
fonts on the client computer.

You can fi nd additional information and statistics about Shockwave on the Adobe
site at adobe.com/products/shockwaveplayer . The Adobe site also provides a Flash and
Director comparison and a Shockwave/Flash movie comparison at www.adobe.com/
products/director/resources/integration .
In preparation for adding Shockwave elements to the NextBest Fest site, you will go to
the Adobe site and review the current Shockwave information and statistics.

To research current Shockwave information and statistics:

◗

1. Start your browser, type adobe.com/products/shockwaveplayer in the Address
bar, and then press the Enter key. The Adobe Shockwave Player home page
opens in the browser window. See Figure 7-19.