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THREAD: In honour of Adobe Flash being finally put to rest, let me tell you a short story about my history with that software.Permalink On twitter.com
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It's 2002 and I'm 15 years old. Obsessed with the internet and in possession of pirated copies of Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, I spend all my (considerable) free time making websites about Dragon Ball Z.On twitter.com
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It's Work Experience Placement time at school and my dad has a friend whose company needs a new website. Dad cannily suggests to the friend that his teenage son (hi!) can build a professional-looking website for their furniture company.Permalink On twitter.com
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When dad asks me if I'd be willing to do it, I jump at the chance, especially because the fee they offer—£1000— is more money than I can possibly conceive of possessing, let alone spending. But there's a hitch in the plan.Permalink On twitter.com
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"My web design software is, er, illegal", I have to tell my dad. I have to lie a little about extended trials and shareware in order to reassure him I haven't turned the family PC into a temple of lies (I have).Permalink On twitter.com
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Dad agrees to ask his friend's company to pay me the money but also buy me legit versions of the software, which costs another £800 or so on top. They agree.Permalink On twitter.com
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I fill out the paperwork at school so I can spend a week doing "work experience" at the furniture company, building their new website. I'm the only kid in school who's being paid for his work experience placement.Permalink On twitter.com
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When I get to the office, my school have given me a checklist of questions to use to "interview" people around the company. I sit down early on with the finance director and read off the sheet "Are you a member of a union?", like a pubescent Stasi officer. He's a bit cagey.Permalink On twitter.com
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Anyway, I spend the entire week using Macromedia Flash and trying to construct an animation of a saw blade and a drill cutting a block of wood into the letter H (forming the name of the company). Start to panic by Thursday that I haven't made the actual website yet.Permalink On twitter.com
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The young designer who's been assigned to chaperone me is probably starting to panic at this point too, and agrees we should move on from the "splash screen" logo animation, so I start making a website.Permalink On twitter.com
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A few heroic all-nighters later and I finish the website and email the files over to them, a couple of days after my placement ends. Once again using his canny negotiating skills, my dad has made the payment aspect mutually beneficial to both parties.Permalink On twitter.com
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I want to use the money to buy my first electric guitar. The company makes furniture for bars and recently refitted a Hard Rock Cafe-style place. Dad convinces them to buy me the guitar I want and put it down as part of the decor for the bar, rather than just giving me cash.Permalink On twitter.com
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34 year old me typing this today is now wondering if the bar owners ended up footing the bill for my Epiphone SG.Permalink On twitter.com
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I get the rest of the cash in my bank and blow it on various early 21st century tech: a MiniDisk player (kids, ask your parents) and some kind of flip phone.Permalink On twitter.com
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When it came to launch day for the big website, I excitedly logged on and saw a version of my saw/drill animation appear onscreen. I was excited at first, then wondered why it looked so much more polished than I remembered.Permalink On twitter.com
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Then the website itself loaded and it bore no resemblance to what I'd built. Dad asked around and it turned out that they didn't think what I'd made was quite up to scratch, so the designer re-did it (definitely the correct call).Permalink On twitter.com
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I was devastated and I think I actually cried with frustration at all my wasted hours. But the company were happy enough and grateful for what I'd done for them, even if they hadn't used it.Permalink On twitter.com
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So I raise a glass to you, Macromedia [Adobe] Flash. Because 18 years ago, you inadvertently kickstarted my career in software engineering and my love of music, plus helped convince grown adults to willingly give thousands of pounds to this nerd for literally nothing in return.Permalink On twitter.com
