Yahoo Toolbar with Shockwave

Went to Yugop yesterday and had to install Shockwave on this machine because it’s new. However, after going through the don’t-remember-my-page-and-close-my-browser-you-coohh#$#$ installer, I noticed part of the installation process had the option of installing Yahoo toolbar. Maybe I’ve been out of the Director community and missed this detail, but why the integration? What’s the point of offering it? Can you write extensions via Shockwave? It was really confusing as to why that was added to the installation process, and although I am on a G12 (or whatever’s faster than a T3), I was still a little irritated that something I didn’t ask for was potentially downloaded with Shockwave. Just thought it was weird.

4 Replies to “Yahoo Toolbar with Shockwave”

  1. Yup, there’s an option now to install the Yahoo! toolbar. Here’s the FAQ:
    http://www.macromedia.com/support/director/ts/documents/sw10_0_1questions.htm#what_yahoo

    The marketing language there is a bit vague (what *is* a “multi-faceted relationship”, anyway? ;-) but for Director the great thing is that there’s money for Director engineering here… Yahoo is paying part of the bills that only Director customers paid for before. It will also increase public exposure and projects too… lots going on. I don’t have financial details (and probably couldn’t talk about them if I did), but the big takeaway is that this is a tremendously healthy thing for Director and Shockwave exposure.

    “Can you write extensions via Shockwave?”

    The Yahoo toolbar software isn’t related to the Director software at all… Yahoo has bought into the massive public exposure Shockwave already enjoys, that’s all. But Director’s Shockwave Player *does* have an extensibility layer… you can write native-code extensions to do things that the basic player itself does not know how to do. Different issue.

    Here are some existing extensions available for Director standalones, and many are available for web installation too:
    http://updatestage.com/products_table.html

    “…something I didn’t ask for was potentially downloaded with Shockwave.”

    No worries, it wasn’t downloaded unless you said “yeah gimme” to the dialog box.

    Regards,
    John Dowdell
    Macromedia Support

  2. First off, please be sure to tell me how to send my bills to Yahoo: “Yahoo is paying part of the bills that only Director customers paid for before”

    I don’t know… it just sounds weird to me. Making Macromedia content searchable via Yahoo–sounds good… don’t know what that means exactly.

    I think the bottom line is that this is a form of advertising. The “free” Shockwave player is free… but you get the Yahoo toolbar pushed on you. I’m not totally offended or anything. I guess I’d just say what it is… a partnership where Yahoo is trading with or paying Macromedia to get their toolbar installed.

    I haven’t seen the installer, but according to the technote, it sounds like users can “opt out” of the installation… that sounds like it’s NOT an “opt-in” option as described above.

    If this is such a great thing, why isn’t it going on with the Flash player?

    Thanks,
    Phillip

  3. Sorry, Phillip, you’ve got to make your own agreement to send your personal bills there…. ;-)

    (I understand it sounds different than things which went before, but another way to look at it is that Shockwave has such massive consumer support that others are wanting to be exposed through its consumer distribution. If I could point today to the direct benefits the Director community would see over the next twelve months then that would be more convincing but I can’t do that until they appear… you already saw the jobs notice for additional Shockwave product managers, which is one of the early returns on this investment.)

    For the Macromedia Flash Player, its prime directive is worldwide viewability, and it’s not a 50% viewability destination environment like Shockwave is. Nothing’s impossible, but it doesn’t play out in my mind the same way Shockwave does.

  4. As a developer I simply see this as (another?) big reason why my clients won’t want to do a Shockwave app. Why on earth would my customer want their customers to get hit with Yahoo advertising? I can’t see how this is going to help Shockwave. My clients don’t want to hear “oh users who don’t have Shockwave… they just download the free player–which, incidentally has advertising for Yahoo”. The Shockwave installer isn’t exactly seemless as it is.

    I don’t get what you’re saying about 50% and Shockwave. The goal of SW is 50%?

    I’m all for things that can help Director… I just don’t see it.

    Thanks,
    Phillip

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