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Stob I hear you're a bit of a Flash programmer. Why is Flash in the news so much, Verity?

Flash seems to have become the whipping boy for just about everybody in the IT crowd. Now it is under attack from Authentic Steve Jobs, who won't let it play on the iPad, just because the runtime is supposedly a tad flaky.

Computer Engineer Barbie.
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Funny that. Just the other day I was thinking of learning a bit of Flash myself...

Really? Has the new Barbie doll already started exerting her influence?

Shuddup. What are my options?

It is well known that there are three types of Flash programmer:

1) The kind who creates time-wasting Flash-animated 'introductions', that we all hoped had gone out of fashion circa 2005, but actually still flourish on brightly coloured websites targeting the mental pre-tweens (for example, here is an example I believe to be written by Barbie herself).

2) The kind who creates Flash-animated adverts that, when an incautious mouse pointer hovers over them, swell up alarmingly like a prawn cracker in hot fat to overwhelm the editorial contents of the browser; or

3) The kind who creates online gambling games that, by dint of many spinning, sparkling pieces-of-eight and a really user-friendly credit card entry form, contrive to tempt unfortunates into a downward spiral of gambling addiction. Like that boring vet on The Archers, for example.

Gosh, so are you an enemy of the people too, Verity?

Hardly. Actually my ActionScript efforts have been engineering applications. Can't go into details here, but take it as read that many attractive and deserving orphaned puppies have gone on to lead more fulfilled lives thanks to me.

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