Google helps developers deliver Flash content to HTML5 with Swiffy

With minimal fanfare, Google has released Swiffy. It lets developers convert Flash SWF files to HTML5 so they are usable on Mobile Safari and other platforms that do not support Flash.

For Adobe, the company that created Flash and aimed to have it to be the major animation and video standard on the web, this means that designers and animators can continue to use the well-known (and expensive) Flash authoring environment while addressing the growing number of HTML5 clients.

The utility won't convert Flash videos, but seems to work quite well on web animations. You can see some examples from Google here and here. If you're viewing the demos from Safari with the Flash Player plug-in on a Mac, you'll see both windows, the original Flash version, and the translation. If you view on Mobile Safari, you'll only see the translation on the right.

If you'd like to test it all yourself, Google will let you upload an SWF file and you'll get an instant conversion.

Steve Jobs has famously resisted Flash on iOS products, saying it crashes and is a battery hog. It's not clear exactly where Google is positioning itself here, as the company's Android mobile OS does support Flash, but relatively few devices have enabled it (and even fewer in a way that customers like). Google has posted an FAQ on Swiffy with more details.

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Source: http://swiffy.googlelabs.com/

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With minimal fanfare, Google has released Swiffy. It lets developers convert Flash SWF files to HTML5 so they are usable on Mobile...

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ConvertMyFlash

Folks,

This is not the silver bullet for Flash Site owners.

It will NOT convert your flash site into a mobile-friendly HTML5 version.

It will ONLY convert old flash animations and banners made years ago using AS2.

We can help : http://ConvertMyFlash.com

We can FULLY CONVERT your FLASH site into HTML5 ( powered by WordPress )..in just 72hrs.

Enabling your business to be :

+Usable to 5 BILLION Smartphones
+Display on 180 Million iPads+iPhones
+Increase their Search Rankings
+Shareable on Social Sites.

July 06 2011 at 4:54 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

dorjesyber

Actually what's funny is even if it only converts 10 year old Flash that would still be more then enough to book a number of Education "game" websites into the 21st century. May peddle Flash and Shockwave content that was written a decade or more ago.

June 30 2011 at 12:34 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Nathan Derksen

The reason why Google didn't widely announce it is because it is a tool with very limited capabilities. I think Dave is right on the money, this is a tool to lessen the need for Flash with mobile ads. Unfortunately, the overall impression that people are getting is that this is a more capable tool.

I have a bit more info about Swiffy's limitations up at
http://www.nathanderksen.com/blog/2011/06/29/googles-swiffy-helps-convert-10-year-old-flash-content-to-html5/

June 29 2011 at 8:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Rhys L

Or, you could save money and take the cheap open standards route. CSS3 animation isn't all that difficult to learn, there are heaps of free tutorials and tools around the place. Creating a jQuery fallback at times can be, but at least then it will work on most platforms.

June 29 2011 at 7:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Dave

Not sure where google is positioning itself? In case you didn't know, google makes a lot of money off advertising... It would help if those ads can be seen even on competitors' devices.

June 29 2011 at 5:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Jason

On the file I tried to convert, a simple banner, it says it doesn't support converting AS3. If that is true this is worthless.

June 29 2011 at 4:59 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to Jason's comment